Women and Public Administration : International Perspectives 9781136567605, 1136567607, 9781560230144, 1560230142

Table of contents :
Content: Contents Women in Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective--Introduction Women in Public Administration in India Women in State Administration in the People's Republic of Bulgaria Women in Public Administration in the Netherlands Women in Public Administration in the Federal Republic of Germany Women in Public Administration in Finland Women in Public Administration in the United States Women in Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective--Conclusion About the Contributors Reference Notes Included Index

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Women and Public Administration International Perspectives Jane H. Bayes, Editor

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

Jane H. Bayes Editor

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives, edited by Jane ft. Bayes, was simultaneously issued by The Haworth Press, Inc., under the same title, as special issue of the journal Women A Politics, Volume 11, Number 4, 1991, Rita Mae Kelly, Editor.

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R outledge Taylor & Francis G roup New York London

ISBN l-5 b 0 2 3 -0 1 4 -2 First published by: Harrington Park Preis. 10 Alice Street. Binghamton, NY 13904-1580 EUROSPAN/Harcington, 3 Henrietta Street, London WC2E 8LU England ASTAM/Harrington, 162-168 Parramatta Road. Stanmore, Sydney, N.S.W . 2048 Australia Harrington Park Press is an imprint of The Haworth P ré « . Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton. NY 139041580.

This edition published 2011 by Routledge: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group 711 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017

Routledge Taylor & Francis Group 2 Park Square, Milton Park Abingdon, Oxon OX 14 4RN

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives was originally published as Women A Politics, V o lu m e I I . N u m b e r 4 1991.

Copyright © 1991 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Copies of articles in this journal may be noncommcrcially reproduced for the purpose of educational or scientific advancement. Otherwise, no part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilm and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permis­ sion in writing from the publisher. Permission docs not extend for any services providing photocopies for sale in any way.

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Congre»« Catalofing-in-PublicaHon Data

Women and public administration : international perspectives / Jane H. Bayes, editor. p. cm. “ Originally published as Women & politics, volume 11, number 4 1991” —T .p. verso. ISBN 1-56023-014-2 (acid free paper) I. Women in the civil service, k. Bayes, Jane H ., 1939-. JFI60I.W 66 1991 351.1'0082- d c 2 0

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CONTENTS S Y M P O S IU M W om en in Public Adm inistration: A Com parative Perspective — Introduction Jane H. Bayes Jeanne M arie Col W om en in Public A dm inistration in India Hem Lata Swarup N iroj Sinha W om en in State A dm inistration in the People’s Republic o f Bulgaria Nora Ananieva Evka Raz\’igorova W om en in Public A dm inistration in the N etherlands M onique Leyenaar W om en in Public A dm inistration in the Federal Republic o f G erm any M onika Langkau-H errm ann Ellen Sessar-Karpp

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W om en in Public A dm inistration in Finland Sirkka Sinkkonen Eva H dnninen-Salm elin

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W om en in Public A dm inistration in the United States Jane H. Bayes

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W om en and Public A dm inistration: A Com parative Perspective —Conclusion Jane H. B ayes

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About the C ontributors

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Index

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A BO UT T H E E D IT O R

JA N E H . BAYES is Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at California State University, Northridge. She is currently serving as Chair of the Sex Roles and Politics Research Committee of the International Political Science Association for 1988-1991. She is author o f Minority Politics and Ideologies in the United States (Chandler and Sharp 1982), Ideologies and Interest Group Politics (Chandler and Sharp 1982), and co-edited Compa­ rable Worth, Pay Equity, and Public Policy with Rita Mae Kelly (Greenwood Press 1988). Her research interests include women and politics, political economy, and minority politics.

SYMPOSIUM

W omen in Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective — Introduction Jane H. Bayes Jeanne M arie Col

THE ORIGINS OF THIS STUDY T his sym posium is the product of an international research project be­ gun in 1982 by Jeanne Marie Col at the International Political Science Association in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The initial purpose was to provide a global report on the status of women in public administration for the end o f the United N ations’ Decade of Women m eeting in Nairobi, Kenya in 1985. This goal was accomplished in rudim entary form in a progress re­ port delivered at the Nairobi m eeting. Once begun, the project raised questions and opportunities for comparison that went well beyond its ini­ tial conception. Researchers met in Paris, France in 1985 and in Bonn, G erm any in 1986 to share their results. These meetings brought to light a wealth o f data about wom en in public adm inistration throughout the w orld. Having a project where as many as twenty different researchers from almost as many countries and from all continents met for three days to share and compare their findings on the topic of women in public ad­ ministration w as an extrem ely exhilarating experience. The rewards and the insights, as well as the difficulties and frustrations of designing and © 1991 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Women and Public Administration: international Perspectives

com pleting a cooperative international research project became apparent to all. Perhaps as important as the outcom e of the project has been the process that it represents. The first planning m eeting for the project w as in Groningen, Nether­ lands at the Second International Interdisciplinary Congress on W omen in 1984. Jeanne Marie Col had been working extensively on a scries of United Nations workshops and projects dedicated to training women in public administration in developing nations. The initial questions that she proposed to the Sex Roles and Politics Research Committee of the Interna­ tional Political Science Association concerned identifying and docum ent­ ing barriers to the entry and advancement of women in public adm inistra­ tion in various countries in the world. These barriers involved sex role socialization processes, sex role stereotyping on the job, access to educa­ tion for wom en, entry level barriers, and promotion practices. For four intense days in Groningen, a group of about ten researchers from almost as many countries met in a hotel room to plan a research design. This included designing a questionnaire and an interview schedule. The partici­ pants were extremely aware of cultural differences and of the various meanings of terms and concepts in different languages and cultures. (All participants spoke English, although English was the native language of only three or four.) Com paring countries of such disparate size and com ­ plexity as Bulgaria (4.6 million) and India (685 million) brought home the limitations of the need to use nation states and/or governments as the basic comparative unit in a project on public administration. The group was very sensitive to the dangers of imposing a W estern model on non-western countries in these discussions, yet all participants shared certain general W estern liberal assum ptions about public bureaucracies and their political importance in political decision-m aking as well as assum ptions concern­ ing the need for women to be a part of that decision-m aking process at the highest levels.

THE GENERAL POSITION OF WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE The participants’ ideas concerning a comparative framework for the study involved placing the discussion of women in public administration in the context of w om en’s overall participation in the labor force of each country. The general hypothesis was that public sector employm ent has led w om en’s advancement into higher status jobs. For socialist countries where all em ploym ent may be considered public, the initial assumption was that economic control by the state opened new opportunities for

Jane H. Bayes and Jeanne Marie Col

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w om en. In developing nations, the assumption was that the labor force participation by women would help define the extent to which the coun­ try’s female population was rural versus urban, agricultural versus m anu­ facturing or service oriented, and give a rough index o f w om en’s educa­ tion levels. This, in turn, would set the param eters for assessing w om en’s opportunities in public administration. In addition to the overall context of wom en in the labor force, the re­ searchers chose to focus on four other topics: (1) a general description of the num ber and level of female civil servants in the highest ranks of at least two bureaucracies, one concerned with traditionally female roles such as health or education, and one concerned with traditionally male roles such as finance; (2) the career histories of these wom en; (3) an insti­ tutional description o f wom en in public bureaucracies, w om en’s views of the barriers, the obstacles, the access to training and advancem ent, and the general social clim ate for women em ployees at various levels within the bureaucracies in question. The research design sought to obtain inform a­ tion about how wom en in high level positions perform ed in the workplace and what their attitudes were about their own positions in their organiza­ tions, their work styles, and their attitudes towards both men and women superiors and subordinates. Finally, (4) the study probed the perceptions of wom en in public administration concerning discrim ination and equality policies. Each o f these topics deserves some elaboration.

A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF WOMEN IN TOP ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS An original hypothesis of the research design was that m inistries would exhibit occupational sex segregation according to the extent to which their functions had traditionally been associated with one sex or the other. The unknown question was the extent to which this pattern prevailed. Also of interest w as the percentage o f wom en who were “ top” bureaucrats in each country. Defining a “ top” bureaucrat presented some interesting com parative methodological problem s. Each researcher was to examine female executives in the top ten percent o f the salary range for her coun­ try. This rule created a num ber o f methodological dilem m as especially in small countries where very few if any women were in top positions in traditionally male dom inated bureaucracies such as those concerned with finance or foreign affairs. After docum enting the num ber and status of wom en in the top ranks of the bureaucracy of each country, the research design called for each researcher to identify a sample of at least 25 top

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

female bureaucrats (and if possible, 25 top m ale bureaucrats) as question­ naire recipients and as candidates for an interview .

The Career Histories o f The Women Administrators The purpose o f exploring the career histories o f the respondents w as to identify and docum ent socialization and recruitm ent patterns as well as barriers which these w om en had confronted and overcom e. W ere career paths for wom en different from those o f men? W ere w om en lim ited to top positions in certain m inistries and excluded from others? Did successful w om en tend to move laterally m ore than successful m en? Did w om en m ove around from one agency to another or from one job to another more often than did men as they advanced? Did a “ glass ceiling” seem to be in evidence for w om en adm inistrators? W ere the respondents “ pioneer” wom en in the agency or had the agency or m inistry a history o f w om en in top adm inistrative positions? W hat were the class and educational back­ grounds o f the top adm inistrative w om en? W ould these be different in different countries?

Hypothesized Barriers to Women Interested in Public Administration Careers The existing literature about the status o f wom en in practically every society suggests that in all the nations o f the w orld, wom en interested in public adm inistration as a career w ill have to cope with com m on barriers. These include socialization practices that teach w om en that they should not aspire to such positions in society and continue to reiterate this m es­ sage in countless aspects o f everyday life; the sex segregation o f occupa­ tions in the society and sex role stereotyping on the job; the lack o f access to education or training in general or in particular fields; and entry level barriers. Once on the jo b , prom otion practices often present barriers, and finally the double burden o f fam ily and career affects even those wom en who are not m others because o f sex role stereotyping. The assum ption w as that these barriers are present to som e degree in all societies although their prevalence varies.

Sex Role Socialization Early childhood socialization trains girls and boys for future roles in society. Except in relatively rare cases, children are trained to assum e the roles with w hich their parents are com fortable, rather than roles based on changing needs and conditions. W hile boys are expected to em phasize

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public roles, girls are trained in household duties and discouraged from public activities. The stereotype of the passive, fem inine, family oriented w ife-m other is re-learned by each generation and reinforced daily through schooling, custom s, institutions, law s, and the m edia. Even though there are m any wom en w ho choose other behavior patterns, these non-traditional wom en experience role-incongruence, role stress, and role conflict. The researchers w ere concerned with the extent to which this sex role socialization occurred for top female bureaucrats.

Sex Role Stereotyping on the Job Practically all societies have some kind of sex-based division o f labor, although the extent o f the separation and isolation of women varies con­ siderably from one country to another. Stereotypes concerning appropri­ ate behavior for wom en will vary accordingly. W here women are pioneer­ ing by assum ing m anagerial and top administrative positions, they are challenging by their very existence long held expectations and stereo­ types. M any w om en, as well as m en, prefer not to be the “ first” pioneer in developing new careers, new fields, or new roles. The psychological, social, and even econom ic challenges are many for those women and men w ho seek innovative roles. A wom an who chooses to fill a position previ­ ously filled only by men must invent, test, and refine behavior patterns in entirely new situations, knowing that her colleagues are watching to see w hether she will try to be “ one o f the boys” or will attempt to alter their expectations about behavior associated with that position. Role m odels becom e extrem ely important here. An individual looks for one or more persons w ho have sim ilar personal characteristics and w ho are already in positions sim ilar to those to which the individual aspires. U pw ardly m o­ bile men have plenty o f exam ples o f men at higher levels and can easily identify with at least a few of them . Pioneering w om en, how ever, can find few if any wom en who are already highly placed in most organizations. At best, an entry level wom an finds one or two women at higher levels. She may or may not identify with their role behaviors. Only when a num ber of wom en hold high positions in many organizations will entry level women have enough potential role m odels to find m odels whose abilities and styles they adm ire. The lack of female role m odels in top organizational positions broadcasts a “ no entrance” signal to the most qualified and interested w om en. W hile some wom en do respond adventurously, men do not have this additional barrier to confront. Once roles have been de­ stereotyped sexually, both men and women will pursue careers based on their abilities and inclinations, rather than follow ing the paths taken most often bv m em bers o f their sex. The extent to which top female bureaucrats

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

actually were pioneers and the ways in which they experienced the pio­ neering role were questions of concern to the researchers. Being the only or one o f very few highly placed women in an organiza­ tion brings with it a num ber o f problem s which m ale leaders in those organizations do not have to face. Isolation is one of these. Most leader­ ship positions are filled by men w ho arc used to relating to women as m other, sister, daughter, or secretary-assistant. M any professional males have never worked with a female colleague. The “ token” woman in a top m anagement position consequently must work not only to develop her own style, but must also work to make her male colleagues comfortable with her. She must spend extra effort to com m unicate with her male col­ leagues and to be included in their informal activities and discussions. As one or one of a few highly placed wom en, she is not only isolated but she is also very visible and constantly being watched. W hereas most men entering a job can make a few mistakes that are overlooked, a wom an in the same position is under great pressure to perform well every m inute. If she m akes a m istake, her male colleagues may infer that “ w om en” are inappropriate for the job. If she does w ell, they are just as likely to con­ clude that she is exceptional and that most women could not do as w ell. In the first case, she reflects poorly on the entire group of potential female employees; if she does w ell, she is separated from “ expectations” about women and becom es isolated from her female cohort. The interview schedule attempted to probe how “ pioneering” respondents perceived them selves and their job situation in light of these hypotheses. Still another barrier to advancement for women comes from the dis­ junction between the passive socialization training for women in most societies and the requirem ents for advancem ent that most organizations present. W hile qualified women do not autom atically get the top jobs, they are more likely to be promoted if they express am bition, seek diffi­ cult assignm ents, and speak out on issues. Supervisors who do not con­ sider themselves to be biased against women may still treat women differ­ ently from men because of their own expectations concerning w om en’s ambitions and desires for advancem ent. Supervisors may (som etim es un­ intentionally) exclude women employees from developmental opportuni­ ties such as travel and attendance at conferences, exclude them from pro­ fessional netw orks, pass over w om en em ployees when doling out important and difficult assignm ents, and confine women to secondary or assistant helpmate roles. W orse, women may be treated in a dom ineering or condescending m anner, overprotected or constantly criticized, or sub­ jected to harassm ent. An ambitious woman must not only do her job w ell,

Jane H. Bayes and Jeanne Marie Col

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she must confront any internal reluctance she may have to be aggressive in seeking choice assignm ents and responsibilities, and m ust consum e addi­ tional energy developing strategies to deal with any prejudices her male supervisors and colleagues may have. All of these ideas were hypotheses that the research team sought to test in their interviewing.

ACCESS TO EDUCATION W hile most developed countries offer universal access to primary edu­ cation (although the quality varies from place to place), in many develop­ ing countries, one must pay for access to a limited num ber of spaces, even at the lowest levels. Parental attitudes influence w hether girls have the sam e educational opportunities as boys. Enrollm ent in formal education for wom en o f all age groups lags behind that of m en, but is increasing at a faster rate than for men. Lack o f parental resources and traditional attitudes limit the educational opportunities for many w om en. For less wealthy fam ilies, the cost of sending children to school may require parents to choose am ong their children. In developing countries, parents send boys instead of girls be­ cause girls are expected to be m others, not providers, and because girls can get pregnant and be forced to leave school. In industrialized countries, the same considerations operate at a higher level of education. Boys are the first to be sent to college in a family that has to choose. Only within the last twenty years in industrialized nations have wom en obtained access to training in any great num bers in traditionally “ m ale” fields such as engineering, science, m edicine, business, law, econom ics, and politics. In many o f these fields in many countries, education and training is still prim arily for m ales. The research project probed respondents concerning their education and the support they received in obtaining that education.

ENTRY LEVEL BARRIERS INTO PUBLIC SERVICE Occupational sex segregation represents a significant barrier to w om ­ en ’s advancem ent in practically every country. The expectation of those engaged in this study w as that traditionally “ m ale” m inistries such as those dealing with finance and foreign affairs would have fewer women in high positions than m inistries concerned with typically “ fem ale” func­ tions, such as health, social w elfare, and education. In countries where trained labor is plentiful, educated wom en m ay experience more discrim i­ nation than in countries where educated labor is scarce and the possession

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

o f knowledge and skills is considered a national resource not to be wasted by system atically underutilizing women graduates.

PROMOTION Higher level perform ance (and usually higher salaries) is related to the following job characteristics: (a) supervising more people; (b) responsibil­ ity for a larger budget or more expensive equipm ent; (c) handling tasks in which errors have m ore serious consequences for the organization; (d) responsibility for making decisions for which there are fewer prece­ dents and for which outcom es are harder to predict; (e) handling tasks that require coordination o f m ore independent agencies or more different types of em ployees or clients. An upwardly mobile employee looks for opportu­ nities either (1) to step into a position with the above characteristics or (2) to alter the current job to include more o f the above characteristics. A major barrier to promotion for women comes from the specificity of job titles and the lock-step sequencing of positions into career ladders and regulations limiting m ovement among agencies. If wom en are blocked from entering the lowest levels of such career ladders they are autom ati­ cally excluded from promotion into higher positions on those ladders. Career ladders dom inated by women are short and have low starting sala­ ries in com parison with those career ladders dom inated by men that are taller and have higher salaries. If job titles were broad-banded and more job titles were interchangeable, wom en could more easily change from a short to a taller career ladder. Some government agencies have developed “ bridge jo b s” that span two career ladders and increase lateral mobility across career ladders. In each country, researchers were looking for evi­ dence of career ladders and how they affected wom en as well as for the existence of policies or practices that attempted to include more women in such career ladders. Employee evaluation practices present another structural barrier to w om en’s prom otability. Evaluation systems often weight subjective fac­ tors such as personality and appearance criteria where such weighting is inappropriate. Because women are rarely found in m anagerial positions, evaluators are not sure whether behavior and accomplishm ents that they observe are due to the w om an’s true abilities or to the fact that she is a wom an. For exam ple, if a man is often seen talking with other em ployees, this may be interpreted as an expression o f his interpersonal skills. If a woman talks to other em ployees in the same w ay, she may be viewed as gossiping and w asting tim e. Although the behavior is the sam e, the inter­

Jane H. Bayes and Jeanne Marie Col

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pretation is different for women and m en. If a supervisor o f a woman em ployee has strong “ traditional” attitudes about w om en’s place and about w om en’s behavior, the supervisor may see negative behavior even when the wom an is doing very well. M any behaviors towards women in an organization are hostile whether intentional or subconsciously m otivated. W omen m anagers may be sin­ gled out, either by being ignored or by being made to feel special or different. A lone wom an in a m eeting is often asked for the w om en’s point o f view . This m ay appear conciliatory or sensitive but may be a device to set her apart from the group. M anagers not knowing how to relate to a female m anager m ay set her apart by avoiding eye contact, by m aintaining more physical distance, and by m aking references to her fem ininity. A num ber o f male behavioral patterns are condescending. These not only distance wom en from the managem ent team but also place women at the lowest levels o f the status hierarchy. These behaviors include: nonparallel term inology (e .g ., men and “ girls” ); obvious surprise when a wom an does well; a “ know ing” sm ile when a woman does not do well; non-parallel titles (e .g ., Mr. Khan and Leila)\ the inability to remember nam es and professional attributes and accom plishm ents of women (while rem em bering very well their physical appearance); and a lack of interest in wom en m anagers as potentially powerful and long term com ponents of the organization. Som e behaviors are not only condescending but also dom ineering: m ak­ ing inappropriate personal remarks; belittling or ignoring suggestions made by wom en; attributing com m ents made by women to men instead; supervising wom en professionals more closely than men; using sexist hu­ m or to enliven speeches or conversations; and seeking analysis (higher level inform ation) from men while seeking facts (lower level information) from w om en. In conferences and m eetings, m en, rather than w om en, tend to talk m ore, talk longer, take more turns speaking, exert more control over the topic of conversation, and interrupt women more often than men. These m icro-inequalities taken singly are m erely irritating, but when a wom an is subjected repeatedly to these condescending and dom ineering behaviors, any doubts she has about her abilities and perform ance are reinforced. Such negative behaviors can discourage a woman from taking the initiative, suggesting ideas, and developing professional relationships. Her aspirations are dam pened and her confidence underm ined. The ques­ tionnaire asked respondents for their views on prom otion practices in light of the above hypotheses.

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

THE PLAN OF THIS SYMPOSIUM Each of the papers in this symposium begins with a discussion of women in the labor force as a means of establishing the context for women in the top public administrative jobs in each country. Some papers also include some historical, dem ographic, econom ic, and governmental in­ formation about the country as background m aterial. Each paper then briefly describes the structure of state administration and the peculiarities of the research design as it was executed in each country. The researchers in each country all used the same questionnaire and interview schedule. The data reported here may not appear exactly parallel in that sam pling procedures varied in each country and the brief reports presented here emphasize the findings which each researcher found to be most signifi­ cant. These varied from country to country. in the case studies that follow , the authors, all of whom were born and currently live in the country about which they w rite, report a rather dismal situation for those who would hope to see equality between men and women in public adm inistration leadership positions. On the other hand, change for women has been taking place rapidly in all of the societies and in the situation for women in general, and for top women administrators in particular, today is better than it has been in the past. In all countries except India, women have entered the paid work force in ever greater num bers during the last two decades, especially in professional m anage­ rial and service occupations. In all of the countries, the public sector has been an important source o f em ploym ent for wom en; however, women have only been able to occupy between 1-5 percent of the top adm inistra­ tive positions if view ed as a whole. In a few top national m inistries, women hold as many as 16 percent o f the top positions. In addition to docum enting the status of women in top administrative positions in each country, the case studies discuss the barriers to w om en’s advancement as they m anifest them selves in each country. The situation in each country has its own unique story involving history, the structure of the labor m arket, the organization of government in the country, the so­ cialization patterns of the culture as well as the current patterns of interac­ tion between men and wom en, and current public policies affecting these m atters. These circum stances help to define the reported objective barriers to w om en’s advancem ent in public adm inistration in each country as well as the subjective attitudes and behaviors that the women respondents them selves report in each case study.

Jane H. Bayes and Jeanne Marie Col

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SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES: A WORD OF WARNING Reported sim ilarities often mask substantial differences. For exam ple, all of the wom en interviewed for these studies were highly educated with the m inimum o f a university degree and often with an advanced degree. This “ fact” can have very different m eanings in different countries. In countries where primary education is not universal, as in India, this means that recruitm ent into public service is possible only for the more privileged upper classes. The higher education o f the Indian women administrators involves quite a different econom ic, and social process for the society than does the higher education o f women in the United States, Finland, or Bulgaria. In all the countries, public administration jobs tend to be sex segre­ gated, although in varying degrees. Sinkkonen and Hanninen-Salmelin explain that in Finland, the very levels of government are sex segregated as traditionally female government services are administered at the local level prim arily by w om en, and traditionally male dom inated government services like foreign affairs and finance occur at the national level and have males in the top jobs. No other country in this study is adm inistered in quite this sex segregated w ay. In all countries, wom en continue to have primary responsibility for childcare, a problem which many top women adm inistrators attempt to resolve either by not having children, by having fewer children than the rest o f the population, or by engaging in part-time w ork. In all countries, role conflict and often the double burden of career and family is intensely felt by top female adm inistrators. How ever, variations occur. Leyenaar describes the “ culture of m otherhood” that characterizes the climate wom en live in in the N etherlands. She explains the causes and the conse­ quences o f this “ culture” for wom en in top administrative positions. Som etim es specific or unique legal, adm inistrative, or cultural practices have prevented wom en from gaining top adm inistrative jobs. The paper on Finland explains that although Finland was the second nation in the world to give wom en the vote as early as 1906, Finnish women have been prevented from holding certain top adm inistrative jobs in certain areas in the recent past because statutes specifically stated that these jobs could not be filled by w om en. In the Federal Republic o f G erm any chapter, Langkau-Herrm ann and Sessar-K arpp note that Germ an women cannot gain entry to certain m inistries because they lack the required graduate

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

degrees in econom ics or law , educational areas where women have histor­ ically been underrepresented. An underlying, although not consciously articulated assum ption of the initial research design for this study was that top administrative positions generally are associated with political power and that wom en desire such positions just as men do. The case studies that follow show , however, that job satisfaction is not the same for top women administrators in each country. W omen in the United States and in the Federal Republic of G er­ many were highly satisfied with their jobs, whereas Ananieva and Razvigorova and Swarup and Sinha found that for different reasons top women administrators in Bulgaria and India were less satisfied. The chapters that follow present the particular situation for women in public administration in each country included in this sym posium . In the final chapter, Bayes com pares the data gathered in each country with re­ gard to the initial questions posed by all the researchers and then high­ lights some of the substantial differences between the countries in the sym posium and the barriers these countries present to women in public adm inistration. The argument is that some major factors such as the nature o f the economy (agricultural, industrializing, industrial, or post-indus­ trial), the structure of the labor force, the role of the state in the economy and in the society, and the availability o f education in the society are characteristics which establish some of the param eters for w om en’s role in society and specifically for w om en’s role in high levels of public adm inis­ tration. States that are primarily agricultural, largely rural, and which have high levels o f illiteracy, as does India, treat women and women administrators differently than do states that are industrial, mostly urban, and which exhibit low levels o f illiteracy. States like Bulgaria, that are centrally directed, interested in rapid m odernization, or have a need for skilled or highly educated labor, arc more inclined to draw women into a wider range of roles than states which exhibit none of these characteris­ tics. Beyond generalizations such as these, the stories of the barriers that women face in becom ing top public adm inistrators, and the stories of what it is like to be a woman in a top administrative post in any particular country are different for every country. Sim ilarities exist and are instruc­ tive to note; however, these sim ilarities may be generated by quite differ­ ent conditions.

W om en in Public Administration in India Hem Lata Swarup Niroj Sinha

BACKGROUND India, with a female population of 330,786,808 out of a total of 685,184,692, according to the 1981 Census o f India (Padm anabh 1983), is the second biggest country in term s o f female population. How ever, the status o f Indian women in all spheres o f their lives, socio-econom ic, polit­ ical, and cultural, has been secondary to the status o f m ales. The 1971 Census revealed shocking statistics about the conditions of women in In­ dia. Although the literacy percentage for women had increased from 13 percent to 18.7 percent during the decade, the work participation rate had declined steeply from 27.9 percent to 12.1 percent. In response to the census findings, the government established The Status o f W omen C om ­ mittee to investigate and report on the status of Indian wom en. In 1974 the com m ittee subm itted its report which called for m easures to improve the situation of wom en in all spheres. Reform ers such as Raja Ram M ohan Roy, Keshavchandra Sen, Swami Dayan and Saraswati called for improvement in the socio-econom ic con­ ditions o f wom en in the nineteenth century. They made efforts to educate w om en, prohibit the system of child-m arriage, and elim inate widow burn­ ing (Sati) with the help o f the governm ent. The result w as a massive upsurge o f wom en in the national freedom struggle under the guidance of M ahatm a Gandhi and Nehru. Gandhi and Nehru had recognized the po­ tential o f wom en and their possible participation in the social and political life o f the nation. Important changes did take place in pre-Independence India, changes which received further impetus in Independent India. The changes included: © 1991 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

¡3

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Women and ft/blic Administration: International Perspectives • the spread o f education among wom en; • the prohibition o f such social evils as the practice o f child m arriage, widow burning and female infanticide; • the inclusion o f women on a mass scale in the national freedom struggle from 1920 onwards; • the guarantee of equal social-econom ic and political rights by the Constitution of Independent India; • the spread of em ploym ent opportunities.

Changes in the social structure, such as the breakdown o f the joint family system and the em ergence of nuclear family units, a certain degree of urbanization, and the entry of men and women into the service segment of the econom y, have helped to change the lives of a m inority of Indian wom en. For the m ajority, life has not changed much.

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE The female participation rate in the labor force declined from 41.8 m il­ lion (34.4 percent) in 1911 to 31.2 million (17.4 percent) in 1971, with 87 percent of this female labor concentrated primarily in rural areas. O f the total female labor force, 80 percent is in agriculture. W ithin the two cate­ gories of agricultural labor, the num ber of female cultivators declined from 45.4 percent in 1951 to 29.6 percent in 1971, but then increased to 33.2 percent in 1981. During this same period, the number of women who have worked as agricultural laborers has increased from 31.4 percent in 1951 to 50.5 percent in 1971, and then declined slightly to 46.2 percent in 1981. Female participation in industry declined from 11.4 percent in 1951 to 8.7 percent in 1972 (Guha 1975, 163). Increased participation for women has come only in the services and professions where it increased from 28,000 in 1961 to 1.3 million in 1975 in the public sector. Most women are concentrated in Class III or clerical level jobs. In the professions, most women are teachers. Of all teachers in India, 70 percent are wom en. O f these, 71 percent are engaged in primary school teaching and only 8 percent in college teaching. In medicine, the ratio is 6.1 fe­ males to every 100 male doctors. Seventy percent of all nurses are wom en. The number o f female adm inistrators, directors, m anagers, and executives, which are the highest ranked occupations in the country, in­ creased from 49,000 to 54,000 during the decade 1961-1971. The com pa­ rable growth for men was from 1,962,000 to 2,586,000 (Mitra 1980). In spite of the slight increase in this occupational group, the subcategory of women administrators and executive officials in the government declined

Hem Lata Swarup and Niroj Sinha

15

from 17,000 to 14,000 while the num ber of male adm inistrators and exec­ utive officials rose from 1,014,000 to 1,528,000. W om en’s em ploym ent has continued to grow in the service sector al­ though the Census of 1981 reports that w om en’s em ploym ent declined in agriculture and industry. The public sector has been increasingly provid­ ing em ploym ent for women in comparison with the private sector. The figures show that 47.1 percent of w om en’s em ploym ent w as in the public sector in 1972-73. By 1976-77, this figure had increased to 52 percent (Table 1). Much o f this increase has come at the state level. During the same period, w om en’s percentage o f the total labor force increased from 21.4 percent to 24.9 percent (Reserve Bank of India 1978). The relatively low level o f participation by women in all employm ent sectors is due to a num ber o f factors: • protective labor laws, such as the Factories Act o f 1952, the Planta­ tion and Labor Act o f 1951, and the M aternity Benefits Acts of 1961; • illiteracy, lack of skill, lack o f occupational m obility among women in agricultural labor. The literacy ratio according to the 1981 Census is 24.82 percent o f females compared to 46.89 percent for males; • the rigid hold of social norms on middle class, sem i-educated wom en to remain in their hom es and play the role of wife and m other only; • the lack of child-care centers, the lack of electrical gadgets to sim ­ plify housew ork, the unavailability of cooked food at reasonable prices. Sexual stereotyping is the major issue for female labor participation. Jobs have been classified into male/female categories by the National Em ­ ploym ent Service. The Vocational Training facilities discrim inate against w om en. O f the total num ber o f trainees, only 4 percent are wom en. Wage discrim ination is w idespread. The wage boards fix wages according to sex in private industry and in the unorganized sector of agriculture, women usually receive lower wages for equal am ounts o f work. Although the participation rate is low, the percentage o f unemployed wom en when com pared to men is quite high. In 1971, the total num ber of unem ployed wom en in rural areas was 2.1 million com pared to 1.4 m il­ lion m en. In agriculture, women formed 60 percent o f the total unem ­ ployed, according to the Com mittee on Unem ploym ent. W om en, on an average, have fewer paid working days (160 days) in com parison to men (242 days). The proportion of highly educated and professionally unem ­ ployed women is nearly 41 percent among female graduates in the arts and

16

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

Table 1

Trends in Women'» Employment End March

Total Employment

%of Women’s

%Women of Total

Employment by Sector

Public

1972-73 1973-74 1974-75 1975-76 1976-77

1,882,400 1,927,900 1,967,200 2,020,800 2,071,600

21.35 21.88 22.31 23.97 24.94

47.1 49.2 50.6 50.9 52.0

Private

52.9 50.8 49.4 49.1 48.0

Source: Reserve Bank of India Bulletin, October, 1978.

hum anities. In 1971, only 6 fem ale doctors w ere em ployed for every 100 m ale doctors.

WOMEN IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Since Independence in 1947, the Constitution has perm itted Indian wom en to enter the adm inistrative services, especially in the public sector. D uring the British rule, w om en were disqualified for higher adm inistra­ tive posts. Im m ediately after Independence, w om en w ere allowed to take the com petitive exam ination for the adm inistrative service. H ow ever, rule 5(3) o f the Indian A dm inistrative Services’ Rules o f 1954 em pow ered the governm ent to dem and the resignation of a fem ale officer after m arriage on grounds o f efficiency. A fter w om en parliam entarians and w om en lead­ ers raised a hue and cry against this provision, the I.A .S . deleted it from their recruitm ent rules in 1972. N evertheless, the percentage o f w om en rem ains very low —not m ore than 11 percent of the total. The governm ental adm inistrative structure in India consists o f three general categories: Central Services, State Services, and Local G overn­ ment Services. W ithin the Central Services are four classes: C lass 1 in­ cludes the Indian A dm inistrative Services (I.A .S .), the Indian Foreign Service (I.F .S .), the Indian Police Service (I.P .S .), and Allied Services. Class II includes officers at the section office level; C lass III consists of clerical and m inisterial cadre services; and Class IV involves peons, sw eepers, and other unskilled labor. T he State Services also have four

Hem Lata Swarup and Niroj Sinha

17

classes in the sam e pattern as the central governm ent. Class I includes provincial civil, police, education, and other services. The Local G overn­ ment Services involve m etropolitan areas, corporations, m unicipalities, district boards and panchayats at the village level. Table 2 show s the trend o f w om en’s em ploym ent in the central govern­ m ent at different levels from 1961 to 1971. The largest num ber o f women are concentrated in Class III jobs. The expansion in this cadre has been faster than in others —from 720 in 1961 to 4,175 in 1971 (Guha 1975, 209). The trend has continued although detailed data is not available.

Women in Central Services: Tbe Indian Administrative Services (I.A.S.) W omen started entering this m ost prestigious o f the Indian Services in 1951. Apart from the Indian A dm inistrative, Foreign and Police Services, wom en were also entering the private sector as directors, m anagers, and executives of financial and com m ercial corporations and industrial estab­ lishm ents during this period. In the first decade (1950-1960), the num ber of wom en rarely exceeded 4 percent in any one year, and that was only at the end o f the decade. During the second decade, women began to partici­ pate in greater num bers with the percentage o f wom en hovering around

Table 2 Women Employed in Central Government at Different Levels (Class I is the highest) Level

Class I 1961 1971

Class n 1961 1971

Class m 1961 1971

Class IV 1961 1971

# 29 * (69)

176 (70)

267 (95)

785 (90)

549 (76)

2,959 5 (71) (50)

68 (81)

Technical # 7 * (17)

29 (12)

13 «)

61 (7)

109 (15)

902 (22)

2 (20)

8 (10)

Professional # 6 * (14)

46 (18)

1 0)

23 (3)

62 (9)

314 (8)

3 (3)

8 (10)

General

Total Women

#

42 84 215 231 269 720 4,175 10 * (100) (100) (100) (100) (100) (101) (100) (101) Figures in brackets denote percentages. Source: Guha, 1975.

18

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

10-13 percent. In 1969, the contingent o f w om en selected w as 18.29 per­ cent (15 out o f a total o f 82), the largest in tw o decades. The num ber of selected w om en ranged from 1 to 15, w ith 10 w om en being selected in 1966, 1967, and 1970. The third decade began with the appointm ent o f a Com m ittee on the Status o f W om en in India (C SW I). The num bers and proportions o f w om en began to increase. D uring the decade, the percentage o f w om en selected for the I.A .S ranged from 7 to 20 percent o f the total. Except for 1978, w om en’s percentage o f the total did not fall below 10 percent. For four years w om en recruits constituted 15 percent o f the total and during tw o o f the years, the recruitm ent figures for w om en w ere nearly 20 per­ cent o f the total. During the 1980s decade, the first four years did not display spectacular results. The num ber o f fem ale recruits to the I.A .S . ranged from 11 to 16 w om en in any one year and in percentage constitutes from 8 to 10 percent of the total. T his represents a decline in the grow th o f wom en in the Indian Central Services. The prom ising increase in the num bers o f w om en in the Central Services during the 1970s w as not m aintained during the 1980s. Recruitm ent and p rom otion. Besides direct recruitm ent, other m ethods o f entry into the I.A .S . include special recruitm ents, recruitm ents based on released exam ination results, and prom otion from State Services or Provincial Civil Services (P .C .S .) (see Table 3). Betw een 1948 and 1983, 9 .2 percent o f the 3,215 direct recruits into the I.A .S . w ere fem ale. O f the 955 prom oted during that period, only 6 w ere fem ale. All special recruits, num bering 75 from 1948 to 1971, and all those recruited from released exam ination results, num bering 90 from 1966 to 1973, w ere m ale (D e­ partm ent o f Personnel and A dm inistrative Reform s 1984). The sam e pat­ tern appears in the other top services o f the nation. Som e o f the states have recruited a greater percentage o f wom en I.A .S . officers than others. H im anchal Pradesh has the highest percentage with 16.4 pcrcent. Union T erritories (15.3 percent), H aryana (15.3 percent), Punjab (14.8 percent), Tam ilnadu (12.8 percent) and Karnataka (10.6 percent) all follow . All other states have recruited few er than 10 percent w om en I.A .S . officers. The states o f A ssam , M eghalaya, T ripura, M ani­ pur, Jam m u and K ashm ir, O rissa and Sikkim all have less than 5 percent w om en I.A .S . officers. All o f these states, except O rissa, have had prob­ lem s o f integration w ith the Central G overnm ent at one tim e or another and have yet to becom e a part o f the m ainstream . The Hindi heartland perform s poorly in this arena also, as it does in other spheres. A correla­ tion seem s to exist betw een lower percentages o f female I.A .S . officers and general socio-econom ic backw ardness.

Hem Lata Swarup and Niroj Sinha

19

Table 3

Direct Bcmiitmat and Promotion la Indian AdminuBiBYC S e n i« (I.A.S.) Mode o f Recruitment

Total

Men

Women

* Women to Total

Direct Recruitment to l.A .S. from 1948-1983

3,214

2,918

297

9.23

1.31

Special Recruitment various schemes 1948-1971

75

75

1

Released Examination Results 1966-1973

90

90

-

955

949

6

0.62

4,336

4,032

304

7.01

Promotion Quota

Total

-

Source: Department o f Personnel and Administrative Reforms, 1984.

The stru c tu re o f p a y sc a les a n d c a re e r a d va n ce m e n t. T he pay structure o f the I.A .S . and o th er services as fixed by the G overnm ent o f India, w hich co n stitu tio n a lly cannot d iscrim inate o vertly b etw een m en and w o m e n , w as revised in 1973 in accordance w ith the Pay C om m ission R eport, A pp en d ix III: • • • •

Ju n io r S cale —R s. 700 -1 3 0 0 w ith efficien cy bar after R s. 800 S en io r S c a l e - R s . 1200-2000 S electio n G rade —R s. 2000-2250 S upertim e Scale i. R s. 2500-2750 ii. R s. 3000-F ixed iii. R s. 3500-F ixed

A n I .A .S . o fficer can q ualify for the supertim e scale o f R s. 2500-2750 a fter 16 o r 18 y e ars o f e x p erien ce. T hese are the posts o f co m m issio n ers and secretaries to state g o v e rn m e n ts. At the central g overnm ent level, o ffice rs o f this ra n k , if d eputized to the G overnm ent o f India, hold Joint S ecretary rank. T he scale o f R s. 3000-fixed is open to officers at the level

20

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

of Additional Secretary to the Governm ent of India and M em ber of Boards of Revenue in the states. The Rs. 3500-fixed pay rate is for the Secretaries to the Governm ent of India, C hief Secretaries of the State Governm ents and the Chairman of the Board of Revenue in each State. Only the post o f Cabinet Secretary (Chief Secretary to the Governm ent of India) is higher in the Supertime scale. This is a political appointment and has never been held by a wom an. In 1985 for the first tim e, the highest ranking I.A .S . wom an was appointed to the post of Principal Secretary to the Prime M inister. She continued to hold this post in 1988. As Table 4 shows the percentages of women in the top levels o f the I.A .S . at the Selection Grade and above in both the central and in the state adm inistra­ tions ranged from about 3 to 7 percent o f the total (see Tables 4 and 5). The overall picture for the position of women in public administration in India is not very bright. W omen have never been able to obtain more than 11 percent o f the positions in the Indian Administrative Service. In 1984, only 311 of the total 3,349 I.A .S . positions were held by wom en. In the Central G overnm ent, female em ploym ent was 3.6 percent of the

Table 4 Distribution of I.A.S. Officers at Selection Grade and Above bv Sex in the States Name and Scale

1. Selection Grade (Rs. 2000-2250)

Total 0 of officers in position in the states 673

Men

Women

%Women to Total

624

49

7.28

829

34

2.79

161

12

6.93

98

4

3.92

1,088

50

4.39

2. Super Time Scale i ) (Rs. 2500-2700) Commissioner/Secretary in State or joint Secretary in Center 863 ii) (Rs. 3000-Fixed Member Board of Revenue/ Additional Secretary Government of India 173 iii) (Rs. 3500-Fixed Chief Secretary State Government/Secretary, Government of India 103 Total in Super-Time Scale Source: Guha, 1975.

1,139

Hem Lata Swarup and Niroj Sinha

21

Table 5 Promotion of Women Officer» to Selection Grade and Super Time Scale 1950-1982 Care of Officers

Total

Men

Women

% Women of Total

Initial in-take

3,062

2,769

281

9.17

Service of 14 yrs (1951-1964)

815

765

28

3.43

Service of 18 y n (1951-1968)

1,303

1,217

64

4.90

Source: Guha et.al. 1984.

total in 1981. O f these, approxim ately 80 percent were concentrated in Class III clerical level jobs. The State Adm inistrative Services are even w orse. The state o f Bihar in 1984 had no more than 30 to 35 wom en in a total o f over 4000 Class II administrative service jobs. W hile the C onstitu­ tion o f India calls for equal treatm ent, the governm ent does not have an Em ancipation Com m ittee or any other such mechanism to promote the entry o f wom en into adm inistration. The low educational and econom ic status o f wom en com bined with the traditional social norm s which con­ tinue to support the w ife/m other role model for Indian wom en mitigate against change. M arriage continues to be the main vocation for wom en. For a w om an, taking a jo b suggests financial instability in the fam ily, especially for those in the middle class. M ales with working female family m em bers are deem ed unable to provide for their families. W hile these social norm s have reluctantly condoned the entry o f wom en into teaching, m edicine, nursing and other “ fem ale” occupations, they are still unable to sanction wom en as adm inistrators. This is the backdrop within which the present research on women adm inistrators in India has occurred.

THE EMPIRICAL STUDY The data presented in this paper compare adm inistrators from the Union Territory o f Delhi, a com paratively developed corner of the country with adm inistrators from the Bihar state governm ent, a region which is eco­ nom ically less developed in terms o f urbanization and male to female literacy ratio. W hile the Delhi Union Territory is highly urbanized (93 percent), Bihar is one o f the most backward states in India with only 12 percent of its population in urban areas (Lai 1981, Series 4). In Delhi, 53

22

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

percent of the females and 84 percent of the males are literate (Bhalla 1981, Series 28). In Bihar, only 14 percent of the females and 38 percent of the males are literate. The m ethodology o f the study involved identifying and interviewing women administrators using an appropriately modified version o f the in­ terview schedule and questionnaire developed by the international re­ search group. (In each country, researchers had to modify the original research design slightly to make it applicable to the culture, language, and norms of the country being investigated.) The Delhi Adm inistration (equivalent of the Delhi state) sample includes two categories, the I.A .S . and the “ others,” whereas the Bihar sample consists of three categories, the I.A .S ., the State Services, and “ others.” The “ others” category in Bihar consists of local officials such as municipal officers, block develop­ ment officers, city corporation officers, and village panchayat officials. In Delhi, the “ others” category includes these local officials as well as the State Services. In Delhi, the total num ber o f officers was 1000 (excluding technical and medical college and hospital staff) of whom 20 percent were wom en. Fifty of the 1000 were I.A .S . officers, 10 of whom (20 percent) were women (Director 1983). In Bihar, female I.A .S . officers numbered less than 20 (6 percent) out of a total o f 349. In the Provincial Civil Service (P .C .S .) o f Bihar State Adm inistrative Services, women num ­ bered roughly 30 (0.8 percent) out o f a total o f 4000 (Departm ent of Personnel and Adm inistrative Reforms 1983). The data. In each state, questionnaires were distributed to all female administrators in the designated top ranks m entioned above. O f the ap­ proximately 80 persons in the universe, 38 responded; 19 from Delhi and 19 from Bihar. The questionnaires, which were usually com pleted by the respondents in their hom es, were followed with in-depth interviews which occurred in the respondents’ offices. Tape recorders were not used. Each respondent w as visited three to four times by the researcher to obtain the responses. In general, the response was better from administrators in Delhi. Also, women in the I.A .S . tended to be more cooperative than adm inistrators in the State Services. Socialization and education o ffa m ily m embers. Only one of the respon­ dents was born in a village. All o f the other respondents were born in cither a city or a town. The greater urbanization of Delhi was reflected in the fact that among the I.A .S ., 60 percent of the Delhi women were born in the city, while 50 percent of the Bihar I.A .S . were born in the city. How ever, in the “ others” category, all o f the Delhi respondents were born in the city, and all of those from Bihar were born in towns. In both

Hem Lala Swarup and Niroj Sinha

23

I.A .S . and “ other” categories, 83 percent o f the Delhi wom en were born in cities, while only 24 percent o f the Bihar wom en were bom in cities. W ith regard to family background for both states, 51 percent of the respondents belonged to nuclear families by birth, the rem ainder were m em bers o f joint or extended fam ilies. In D elhi, 56 percent of the I.A .S . belonged to nuclear fam ilies, w hereas in Bihar, 100 percent of the I.A .S . wom en were from nuclear fam ilies. In the “ others” category, 44 percent o f the Delhi women were in nuclear fam ilies, while none o f the Bihar “ others” wom en belonged to nuclear families. In Bihar, 33 percent o f the State Adm inistrative Services wom en belonged to nuclear families. In education, most respondents indicated that their parents had a high level of education. Only 3 percent of the respondents’ fathers, and only 6 percent o f the respondents’ m others were illiterate. Am ong the fathers, 34 percent were college graduates, and 26 percent had done post-graduate w ork. A m ong the m others, 17 percent were college graduates, and 20 percent had done post-graduate w ork. About 22 percent of the sam ple did not respond. W ith regard to professions, most fathers (31 percent) were in government service, 17 percent were professionals (law yers, doctors, en­ gineers), and only 6 percent were farm ers. O f the m others, 8 percent were professionals, 9 percent were teachers, and 40 percent were housewives. None of the respondents had m others who were adm inistrators, while many of the fathers of the respondents were in the I.A .S . or the State A dm inistrative Services. O f the wom en adm inistrators them selves, 74 percent were m arried and 26 percent were unm arried. Love m arriages predominated with 54 percent of the respondents having such a m arriage while 35 percent reported hav­ ing an arranged m arriage. The average age at m arriage for all married respondents was 27 years old. The I.A .S . women had an average marriage age of 30 years; for the State Service w om en, the average marriage age w as 27 years; and for “ others,” the average age was 19 years. For India as a w hole, over 50 percent o f the women m arry between the ages of 15 and 19 years (Seager and Olsen 1986, 2). In this study, most of the re­ spondents m arried late and are involved in a love m arriage. This is an index of the m odernity o f the respondents as love m arriages still are not very com m on in India, nor are they sanctioned by the society. The hus­ bands are well educated (44 percent have college degrees, while 54 per­ cent have post-graduate degrees) and hold good jobs. Taken together, the respondents belong to a very high income group. This could have a bene­ ficial effect on their behavior as adm inistrators. Freedom from financial w orries could make them more independent and free them from the tem p­ tations o f corruption.

24

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

The respondents had planned small families. The maximum num ber of children for the Delhi I.A .S . women was 2, and the average number was 1. For those women in the “ others” category, the maximum num ber of children was 5 and the average num ber was 3. In the Bihar sam ple, the m aximum number of children for the I.A .S . and the P .C .S . is 3 and the average is 1. Most of these women are in a relatively young group (2330). W omen in the “ others” category in Bihar are older (many in the 40 year age group) and the maximum number of children is 5. For all of India, the national child to woman ratio in 1981 was 5.46 per woman in the age group 15-49. The State of Bihar had an average of 6 per woman which is above the national average (Raza and Nuna 1985, 16). When asked about the children’s education, 57 percent responded in favor of education through English medium schools. English m edium , m ission, and public schools have traditionally been the training grounds for bureaucratic and professional elites, and the majority of the most suc­ cessful in India send their children to such schools. These schools are considered a passage to elite status in the country. In religious persuasion, 71 percent of the total sample belonged to the Hindu com m unity. Forty five percent belonged to the so called “ upper castes.” Sikhs are the next largest religious group with 16 percent o f the total. The Christian religion claimed the allegiance o f 11 percent of the respondents. Only one respondent was Muslim. Among the Hindu respon­ dents, 45 percent were of the high caste, 13 percent were from backward castes, 3 percent were from the scheduled caste, and 11 percent were from Scheduled Tribes. The upper caste Hindu women clearly are the most highly represented group. The majority also belonged to the high income group —44 percent from Delhi and 29 percent from Bihar. Education. In educational attainm ent, the female administrators are a highly specialized group. A graduate degree is the minimum requirement for sitting in competitive exam inations for administrative service, both Class 1 and Class II. The sample of women administrators had a higher num ber of post graduate degrees (66 percent) than graduate degrees (34 percent). Some of those with a B.A. degree also had a special degree in education or law. One had a diploma in Public Adm inistration and Person­ nel. While 89 percent had degrees from Indian universities, 11 percent also had foreign degrees. One woman in the Bihar Education Service had a Ph.D . from the London School of Economics and Political Science, while two in the I.A .S . had degrees from Oxford and Cam bridge. Of those in the total sam ple, 66 percent attended English medium schools, public, private, or m ission, while only 29 percent attended Hindi medium

Hem Lata Swarup and Niroj Sinha

25

schools. N one o f the I.A .S had attended Hindi m edium schools, w hereas none o f the w om en in the State Services had attended English schools. The conclusion is that schooling in the English m edium schools is im por­ tant for success in C lass I Com petitive E xam inations. C areer en try. T he average age o f jo ining the service for the respondents w as 24 years o f age. O ver half o f the sam ple (52 percent) had a job prior to join in g the A dm inistrative Services, usually college teaching. O f the I.A .S . in D elhi, 60 percent w ere betw een 31 and 35 years old. In Bihar, 38 percent o f the I.A .S . w om en w ere 23 to 30 years old, 25 percent were 36-40 years old, and only 13 percent were in the 41-45 age group. N one of the I.A .S . w om en in either the Delhi or Bihar sam ples w as over 45. In the State Services in B ihar, 71 percent o f the respondents w ere betw een 23 and 30. In the “ o th er” category, tw o w om en w ere over 56 years old, and in the State Service, one w om an w as betw een 51 and 55. T hese age data suggest that entry into the I.A .S . and the State Services is a very recent trend for w om en. W hen asked for their m otivations in choosing an adm inistrative career, 57 percent o f the respondents m entioned the security o f the jo b . The high status o f the career w as m entioned by 55 percent o f the respondents. Good pay and pow er satisfaction w ere other factors that the respondents m en­ tioned. The very low num bers o f w om en in the adm inistrative services are due to a num ber o f factors. The low literacy rate am ong Indian w om en c o m ­ bined with the high entry standards for A dm inistrative Service requiring a graduate degree and success in com petitive exam inations m ean that the pool o f eligible w om en is very sm all. In addition, social norm s discourage w om en from entering the A dm inistrative Services. A dm inistrative jobs are considered tough, unfem inine, and unsafe, as adm inistrators must m eet w ith the public and m anage situations o f violence during festivals and on other occasions. If a w om an does m anage to be a successful a d ­ m inistrator, she is considered ‘lacking’ in fem inine qualities. T he respondents them selves reflected this set o f social norm s as 39 percent o f them expressed a preference for a m edical career for their daughters. For 35 percent o f the sam ple, the I.A .S . w as the first choice for their d a ughters’ careers. None o f the respondents preferred that their daughters enter the Indian Police Services or the Foreign Service. D iscrim ination. The m ajority o f the I.A .S . respondents reported that they do not face problem s w ithin the adm inistrative structure due to their sex. T he rules are neutral and affect m en and w om en in the sam e w ays. A few states in India do discrim inate with regard to giving “ field postings” to w om en; how ever, neither the State o f Bihar nor the Delhi M etropolitan

26

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

area do this. The majority of the respondents have taken “ field postings” such as Sub-Divisional Officer (S .D .O .) or District Magistrate which in­ volve, among other duties, the maintenance of law and order in the area. They have even participated in patrolling duty during tense situations in­ volving religious and caste riots. These women have held court and at­ tended to sem i-judicial duties. W hile an occasional case of sexual harass­ ment occurs by a senior colleague or even a batch-mate (who entered the Service at the same time) (Committee to Examine Problems 1972), such behavior is exceptional rather than normal. The subordinate staff gener­ ally are “ too much in ‘aw e’ of the I.A .S . Officer to be offensive.” Some Adm inistrators reported that they had at times deliberately been posted to a department “ to clear up the dirty mess created by a previous male offi­ c e r.” One of the I.A .S . Officers in Bihar is known as the “ tough lady” and is often asked to handle a department which is in bad shape. W hen asked about pressures from political bosses, the I.A .S . respon­ dents reported that politicians are often reluctant to “ get tough” with female I.A .S . Officers in the same way as they do with male I.A .S . O ffi­ cers. The female officers displayed a certain degree of fearlessness in dealing with political pressures. How ever, the respondents from the State Service were not satisfied with their jobs. They felt that the senior male officers displayed some degree o f hostility toward their female colleagues. Some felt that they were not taken "serio u sly .” Postings in small places, especially suburban areas had problem s of safety and lack of social life. W omen posted as Block Development Officers had problems in conduct­ ing office work sm oothly. The lower the degree o f urbanization, the more the women reported problem s of cordial interaction with male colleagues and subordinates. The feudal structure and norms maintain their sway the farther one is from metropolitan centers. Females belonging to the State Services and especially those in the early stages of their careers are con­ sidered quite insignificant. They have to face the arrogance of the local political leaders in their jurisdictions. Promotions. W hile promotion is normally a routine m atter for both males and fem ales, 51 percent of the total sample agreed that they as women did not have equal access to higher positions in com parison to their male colleagues. In identifying the reasons, 53 percent of the respon­ dents m entioned biology and 59 percent mentioned w om en’s lack of am ­ bition to reach the top. A large number o f respondents (65 percent) m en­ tioned family interference as the major reason for the lack of upward mobility among wom en. W omen often had to sacrifice the chance to take tough and challenging jobs which sometimes promotion demanded be­

Hem Ijita Swarup and Siroj Sinha

27

cause they had to have a ‘posting’ convenient to their husbands and chil­ dren. A nother group (24 percent) agreed that wom en lack the strength for the rigorous training necessary for handling tough jo b s. In general in In­ dia, when a wom an passes the Com petitive Exam inations and secures a post in adm inistration, she is prom oted at the sam e rate as her male col­ leagues. W hile female adm inistrators are not denied prom otion, they are denied appointm ents in more prestigious departm ents such as finance, or hom e or external affairs. W omen are generally given positions in educa­ tion, social w elfare, or fam ily-planning departm ents, while positions in m ore prestigious departm ents go to m en. Rarely do wom en go to “ tough” departm ents. In the Delhi Adm inistration, one female is posted as deputy secretary V igilance, which is a “ tough” post for a female. Sim ilarly in Bihar, one I.A .S . officer is the M anaging Director o f the State Financial Corporation. Some states in India do not give women district positions, because a District M agistrate frequently has to deal with law and order problem s.

CONCLUSION The data about female adm inistrators in two regions o f India, one for­ ward looking and developed and the other backw ard, reveal a few general conclusions about the situation o f women adm inistrators in India. The barriers to w om en’s advancem ent occur primarily at the educational and socialization levels in India. Once a woman enters a particular cadre o f the adm inistrative structure in India, either all India or State Services, she is legally treated as an equal with male colleagues. Prom otions are generally based on length o f service and service records for both men and wom en. Female I.A .S . O fficers were very confident in reporting that they felt that no discrim ination existed within the Indian Adm inistrative Services. W omen in the State Services expressed more reservations concerning this m atter. Yet, reporting that no discrim ination exists, the respondents note that while wom en are able to obtain the rank they are entitled to on the basis of seniority and service, they often fail to obtain the important posts such as Finance C om m issioner, Secretary o f Home A ffairs, or Secretary o f External A ffairs. In some states, wom en have not held deputy district com m issioner posts. Most often, wom en are placed in the Education and Culture or the Health D epartm ents (Vithayathil 1971). The w orking conditions for female adm inistrators and the attitudes of m ale colleagues and the public at large often constitute barriers for women adm inistrators. One female I.A .S . Officer openly com plained that fe­ males in the I.A .S . are treated as second class citizens and that competent

28

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

female officers are not given the opportunity to work in challenging jobs because of sex bias (Vitayathil 1971). W omen are very aware of their m inority status in the organization (Swarna Lata 1982 and Seethramu 1981). “ As wom en come to accept by convention their minority roles, they gradually become a ‘silenced group’ as far as their organizations are concerned” (Amundsen 1971, 91). The State of M aharashtra established a comm ittee to examine the problem facing female employees required to travel to the villages and stay there overnight. These women were having difficulty finding suitable accom m odations. Furtherm ore, the orthodox rural population in the region believed that dealing with unmarried female em ployees was improper (M aharashtra Governm ent Committee Report 1972, 36-37). The hostile attitude of the rural population toward women has also been noted by others. The eminent sociologist M .N . Srinivas stated in a 1976 lecture that “ Traditionally, the Collector was regarded as the Lord of his district, and it is som ething of a cognitive revolution for villagers to find that they are being governed by a w om an, and a young one at that” (Srinivas 1978). In general, the female respondents in the Indian sample reaffirm the fact that the roles and behavior patterns expected of women have not changed m uch. In almost all societies, the most clearly defined role for women has been that of mother and w ife. M otherhood as distinct from fatherhood has traditionally been view ed as a full-time job. Even when employed outside of the home, women tend to remain responsible for the mothering and general housekeeping functions (Davidson, Sirburg and Hill 1974, 185188). For m en, role differentiation within the family com plem ents their occupational role achievem ent, whereas for w om en, this role differentia­ tion frustrates outside role achievem ent (Stewart 1976, 357). For the suc­ cess of the m ale, the wife role requires the woman to meet fully the stereo­ type definitions of the fem inine supporter, com forter, childbearer, housekeeper, and entertainer (Papnek 1973, 852-872). These comm ents and conclusions made about men and women in W estern societies are even more accurate in describing men and women in India. Indian women experience discrim ination even more intensely because of the sex segre­ gated character of the society, the conditions of poverty, and the tradi­ tional value system (Souza 1975, 13). As M andelbaum notes, the typical Indian woman knows of no acceptable alternative role other than that of wife and mother (M andelbaum 1974, 16). The wife-m other syndrome pervades the behavior and role performance of all women in India to some extent and socializes all women to avoid success, to be unambitious and to

Hem Lata Swarup and Niroj Sinha

29

be passive even if they have gained adm ittance into the adm inistrative service cadres (Lynn and V aden 1978, 209). T he respondents in this study o f India support the contention that fam ily interference is the biggest obstacle to the career advancem ent o f fem ale adm inistrators in India. T his factor is closely follow ed by w hat appears to be the passivity and lack o f am bition am ong w om en adm inistrators. Most fem ale adm inistrators in India are m arried and they give higher priority to hom e and fam ily life than they do to their ow n career advancem ent. W eighted w ith the duties and obligations im posed by cultural traditions and norm s, m any m ust do double duty to m eet their professional d e ­ m ands. T his phenom enon provides both an inner psychological and an explicitly overt set o f constraints on w om en adm inistrators. W om en in India are passing through the tw ilight zone o f tradition and m odernity. The grow th o f education, the extension o f vocational and pro­ fessional opportunities, and to som e extent, the scarcity o f financial re­ sources for a large num ber o f people are factors w hich are opening the gates o f change for w om en. To say that w om en place a greater priority on hom e and fam ily life than they do on professional life is not to say that w om en do not have am bition o r that they do not desire pow er and inde­ pendent decision-m aking authority. Caught betw een the hom e and the o f­ fice, such w om en in India arc engaged in a tough struggle for a viable position. M any o f them have had to succum b to the pressures o f fam ily and hom e and try to be content with a m ediocre service record. W hether this w ill continue to be the pattern in the future is not clear.

R E FE R EN C ES Amundsen, Kirslen. 1971. The Silenced Majority: Women and American Democ­ racy. Engelwood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Bhalla, V.K. 1982. Census o f India 1981. Paper 1 of 1982. Series 28. Delhi: Director of Census Operation. Committee to Examine the Problems Facing Women Employees in Government Services. 1972. Report. Bombay: Government of Maharashtra. Davidson, K .M ., R.B. Sirburg, and H.K. Hill. 1974. “ Marriage and Family Life” in Sex-Based Discrimination: Text, Cases and Materials. St. Paul, Minn: West Publishing Co. Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms. 1983. Patna: Government of Bihar. Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Ministry of Home Affairs. 1984. “ Civil List of the Indian Administrative Service as on 1.1.84" ed. 29. New Delhi: Controller of Publications, Government of India.

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Director, Delhi Metropolitan Administration. 1983. Personal Communication. Delhi. Guha, P. et al. Committee on the Status of Women in India. 1975. “ Towards Equality.” New Delhi: Department o f Social W elfare, Ministry of Education and Social W elfare, Government of India. Lai, B.B. 1981. Census o f India 1981 Supplement. Paper 1 of 1982. Series 4. Delhi: Director of Census Operations. Lynn, N ., and R.E. Vaden. 1978. “ Towards a Non-Sexist Personnel Opportunity Structure —The Federal Executive Bureaucracy” in Public Administrator. Maharashtra Government Committee Report. 1972. Bombay: Government o f M a­ harashtra. M andelbaum, D .J. 1974. Human Fertility in India. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Mitra, A. et al., eds. 1980. The Status o f Women: Shifts in Occupational Partici­ pation 1961-1971. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. Padmanabh, P. 1983. “ Primary Census Abstract: General Population,” Census o f India 1981. Series 1. India. Part II B (i), (iii). New Delhi: Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Papnek, Hanna. January, 1973. “ Men, Women and Work: Reflections on the Two-Person C areer.” American Journal o f Sociology 78: 852-872. Raza Moonis, and S.C. Nuna. 1985. “ M ap o f India-Births: Four and Above” and “ Child/W oman Ratio 1981.” Population and Development: Towards the 21st Century. New Delhi: The Family Planning Foundation. Reserve Bank of India. October, 1978. “ Reserve Bank of India Bulletin.” Bom­ bay: Reserve Bank of India. Seager, Joni, and Ann Olson. 1986. Women in the World: An International A tla s. NY: Simon & Schuster. Seethramu, A .S. 1981. Women in Organized Movements. New Delhi: Ambika Publications. Souza, De A ., ed. 1975. Women in Contemporary India: Traditional Images and Changing Roles. New Delhi: Manahar Publications. S rin iv as, M .N . 1978. The Changing Position o f Indian Women. D elhi: O xford U niversity P ress.

Stewart, Debra. July-August, 1976. “ Women in Top Jobs.” Public A dm inistra­ tion Review 36 (4). Swarna Lata. O ctober-D ecem ber, 1982. “ W omen in All India Services.” Prashashnika. v o l.2 (4). Jaipur: The A .C .M . Institute of Public Adm inistra­ tion. Vitayathil. 1971. “ Women in the I.A .S .” Journal o f National Academ y o f A d ­ ministration. Mussoori: National Academy of Administration.

W omen in State Administration in the People’s Republic of Bulgaria Nora Ananieva Evka Razvigorova

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND H istorically, Bulgarian women have been politically active in the anti­ fascist and national liberation struggle o f the Bulgarian people. Bulgarian wom en fought heroically during the April uprising o f 1876 against O tto­ man bondage; they took to arms and fought shoulder to shoulder with men in the first anti-fascist uprising in the world in Septem ber, 1923. Tens of thousands of wom en took part in the anti-fascist struggle and contributed to the socialist revolution of Septem ber, 1944. The Bulgarian Com m unist Party is a more recent force which has con­ sistently supported political rights for w om en. As early as 1891, at its Constituent A ssem bly, the party o f Bulgarian Social Dem ocrats pro­ claim ed as a top political priority the achievem ent o f social and political equality for wom en and took efficient m easures to that effect. For the founding father o f the Bulgarian Social Dem ocratic party, Dim iter Blagoev, “ The problem o f w om en’s em ancipation coincides with the prob­ lem of the econom ic em ancipation of m ankind” (Dim itrov 1979). For nearly a hundred years, the Com munist Party’s policy line on the issue of w om en’s em ancipation was an integral part o f its general political and socio-econom ic strategy. One o f the first norm ative deeds passed by the People’s government in 1944 was the law granting equal juridical rights to persons o f both sexes. The equality o f men and wom en became a constitutional principle in the Constitution o f 1947. Article 36 o f the present constitution states: “ Men and W om en in the People’s Republic o f Bulgaria enjoy equal rights.” The principle o f equality w as further specified in many other provisions o f the constitution. For exam ple, Article 35, paragraph 3, obligates the state to © 1991 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

secure equality by creating the conditions and providing the opportunities for the equal exercise of all rights and obligations. The same principle underlies the overall constitutional developm ent o f the system of rights, liberties, and obligations of the citizens of the People’s Republic of Bul­ garia as well as the whole legislative system . In this sense, the problem of Bulgarian w om en’s political rights and liberties has been solved both con­ stitutionally and legislatively. The progressive thinkers from the time of the bourgeois revolutions did not identify equality of rights with actual equality. They stressed the rela­ tionship between juridical, political, and social reality. They believed that the problem of w om en’s active participation in political life could not be reduced to the equality of rights or to the constitutional treatment of politi­ cal rights and liberties. W om en’s participation involved a whole complex of m aterial, social, political, and legislative preconditions for the com ­ plete and exact reflection of the will and interests o f wom en. The presence of women in politics had not only direct, but also indirect consequences which reflect the general dynamics of socio-economic developm ent and the maturity of social relations. In the first years of Soviet rule, Lenin wrote: “ We really razed to the ground the infamous laws placing women in a position of inequality . . . But the more we have cleared the ground of the lumber of the old, bour­ geois laws and institutions, the clearer it is to us that we have only cleared the ground to build on but are not yet building” (Lenin 1977, v. 29, 429). For Lenin, the return o f women to the sphere of public production was the first prerequisite for social emancipation for women and for the achieve­ ment of real equality with men (Lenin 1977, v. 30, 43). The major force m otivating women to join the paid labor force in the wake of the socialist revolution in Bulgaria was the governm ent’s acceler­ ated drive for socio-economic developm ent and its general striving to overcome econom ic backwardness. The needs of the Bulgarian family also encouraged w om en’s participation in the paid labor force. A third factor was w om en’s desire for self-fulfillm ent, especially for the edu­ cated, politically oriented young wom en.

BULGARIAN WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE Bulgarian women have always been working wom en. The census of 1946 showed that wom en constituted 45 percent of the econom ically ac­ tive population (Dinkova 1980, 16). But in the then backward agrarian society, wom en usually worked as farm and other laborers. The present

Nora Ananieva and Evka Razvigorova picture o f w om en’s em ploym ent in the People’s Republic o f Bulgaria show s three important trends which are relevant to the advent o f wom en in state adm inistration. First, m any wom en have moved into new professions and into new technological industries. In 1946, wom en constituted 7.8 percent o f all manual w orkers, 1.4 percent o f em ployees, and 1.3 percent o f university and vocational college graduates. In 1984, the percentage o f women en­ gaged in industry, in various services, and in government jobs rose to 49.3 percent o f the total labor force. At present, every third engineer in Bul­ garia is a w om an. W omen have also been flowing steadily into the non­ production spheres o f the econom y. In 1984, the relative share o f women in health services, education, the arts, and culture rose to 66 percent. One half o f the country’s physicians are wom en while over 70 percent of the teaching and research staffs at all levels of education are also wom en. W om en have also been m oving into the governm ental sphere where they hold not only ancillary but also decision-m aking positions. W omen com ­ pose 29.8 percent o f the entire m anagerial cadre, 45 percent o f the total num ber of judges, and 30 percent o f all lawyers in Bulgaria. W omen have also been taking professional jobs in agriculture. In 1984, the num ber of female agricultural specialists was four times as high as it was in 1960: 41.7 percent o f all agronom ists and 36% o f all livestock experts were wom en (W omen in the People’s Republic of Bulgaria 1984.) A second important trend involves changes in w om en’s m otivation to w ork. A representative sociological study conducted in 1980 entitled “ W om en in the Econom ic, Public, Cultural and Fam ily L ife” included the question: “ If your family and you enjoyed econom ic security, would you continue to w ork?” Only 15.8 percent o f all wom en answered in the affirm ative. A sked the same question five years later, that percentage fell (W om en and Labour 1980, 58-78). In spite of these statistics, for many contem porary Bulgarian w om en, especially for the young and the middle aged, work has becom e a spiritual need, a most important factor for selffulfillm ent. A third trend is the increasing involvem ent o f wom en in the m anage­ ment and organization of production. By 1984, a total of 56,485 persons were engaged in top levels of m anagem ent and adm inistration. O f these, 53.8 percent were w om en. Critical to this involvem ent in the labor force are the strides which wom en have made in becom ing educated. H ere, wom en have achieved alm ost com plete equality. In 1946, wom en with higher education were only 0.4 percent o f the econom ically active population. Before the social­

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

ist revolution, many institutes of higher education, including the law schools, excluded wom en. By 1985, 47.6 percent of all those in the labor force with higher education were wom en; and 52.3 percent of all univer­ sity graduates were wom en. Finally, the desire for self-fulfillm ent gave women a particular incentive to obtain higher education. The num ber of women in vocational training is also rising quickly. A num ber of decisions by the Party and the Governm ent facilitated the m ovement of women into m anagem ent positions, especially policies which aided women in their other functions related to childcare and homemaking. Not surprisingly, women in Bulgaria are politically most active at their working places. About 47.6 percent of the trade union elective bodies are composed of w om en, and women are also quite active in the local bodies. W omen have also been m oving into elective offices. In the National Assem bly, 21.8 percent of the m em bership are women and 33.6 percent of the mem bers of the local elected bodies are wom en. Compared to the Parliament of 1945 where 5 percent of the mem bers were wom en, these percentages signal an enormous improvem ent. How ever, when half of the labor force consists o f w om en, when over half of the university graduates and activists in the local trade unions and other public organiza­ tions are also w om en, these percentages have been rising at an extremely slow pace over the past 10 years.

WOMEN IN STATE ADMINISTRATION: A STUDY State adm inistration in Bulgaria in 1985 had a double meaning: in a narrow sense, it meant the total num ber of executive bodies; in a broader sense, it included all the institutions, including the Board of the National Assembly (the supreme representative body of state pow er), the State Council, the Council of M inisters, the people’s councils (the territorial bodies of power including the district, municipal councils and city coun­ cils), and the law courts. The state adm inistration also included the bodies of the Council of M inisters for econom ic m anagem ent and m anagem ent of the non-production sphere (m inistries and com m ittees). W ithin state adm inistration were two types o f positions: appointive posts (associates, advisors, directors, deputy m inisters and heads of de­ partments) and elective posts (chairmen, deputy chairmen of the people’s councils, mem bers of the State Council, chairmen and deputy chairmen of the district people’s councils and the municipal councils and mayors). The appointive posts were occupied by people chosen for their perform ance as they have ascended the hierarchical ladder. The elective posts were held

Nora Ananieva and Evka Razvigorova by politically active persons w ho also should have m anagerial experience. For this study, twenty wom en o f both categories at all levels o f state adm inistration were included. The posts held by the sample o f twenty wom en included: deputy chairm an, National Assem bly (elected); advisor, Council of M inisters (appointed); m em ber o f the State Council (elected); advisor to State Council (appointed); four deputy chairmen of Regional People’s Council (elected); four deputy chairmen o f M unicipal Councils (elected); two deputy m inisters and one director o f a M inistry (appointed); and one elected and four appointed public prosecutors in the Law Courts. The research m ethodology involved using questionnaires and inter­ view s to solicit information from these twenty wom en occupying posi­ tions in the top levels o f the state administrative hierarchy. Sociologist Branim ir Botev conducted the interviews either in the workplace or in the hom es of the interviewees.

Basic Description o f the Data As Table 1 indicates, 13 o f the 20 wom en in the sam ple were over 50 years o f age with all but one having had higher education. Interestingly, all but one had been m arried at one time and 17 were currently m arried at the time o f the interview and the same num ber had children. Only one wom an in the sam ple had a parent with an education higher than the sec­ ondary level.

Career History, Education, and Training Each wom an in the sample exhibited one o f three different patterns of career developm ent: H alf o f the wom en in the sam ple began work as a rank and file specialist in the area for which they had been professionally trained. T his m ost often m eant the perform ance o f production tasks re­ quiring the com petence of university graduate specialists. The initial push from their specialties (usually the econom ic and the production sphere) was decisive for the further developm ent o f their careers. The second career pattern was exhibited by wom en w ho started their careers as office w orkers, as administrative and organizational function­ aries. T ypically, this group of wom en started their social and political work during their school years and/or during the years o f their higher education. These wom en found them selves perform ing social and political work without having an opportunity to use their educational specialties. Some o f these wom en were educated as econom ists or as engineers. Most started their careers in regional m anagem ent positions. A third career type that w as not well represented in the sam ple defined those wom en w ho had

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

Table 1. Description of the Data

Ass__________Number 30-39 3 40-49 4 50-55 8 55+ 5 Total 20

Type of Post_______ Number elective office appointment Total

fajuçfltio.n______Number higher 19 college 1 Total 20

Family Status______ Number married 17 divorced/widowed 2 unmarried 1 Total 20

Children______ Number one 8 two 8 three 1 none 3 Total 20

Social Origin______ Number workers 8 4 peasants 1 employees 1 intelligentsia 6 no data Total 20

M icaûon Of Soûl Parents Number Education of One Parent Only no education 1 1 (mother) elementary 3 primary 7 1 (mother) secondary 3 1 (father) higher 1 2

begun their careers as functionaries at the local level. The development of their careers generally remained in the same sphere of the economy and progressed from low to high level management. They obtained their edu­ cations while on the job. Only after reaching the highest levels of the local hierarchies did they move to administrative and organizational work in the

Nora Ananieva and Evka Razvigorova

37

regional organizations, the central state adm inistration and/or political o r­ ganizations.

Education All o f the people in this investigation were university graduates and over three fourths o f them had obtained their diplom as prior to starting their careers in state adm inistration (even at the low er level). A university degree appears to have been alm ost a prerequisite for em ploym ent in a m anagem ent position in state adm inistration. The rem aining one fourth o f the sam ple w ere m ost frequently described by the second or third type of career m entioned above. A bout 40 percent o f the w om en w ere educated as econom ists; how ever, m ost o f this group began their careers in adm inis­ trative and organizational w ork and not in the econom ic sphere. The se c ­ ond largest group w ere educated as engineers, m ostly chem ical engineers and technologists. A few o f these w om en began their careers in adm inis­ trative positions outside o f the production sphere. T he education of the rem ainder o f the sam ple w as varied representing fields like law , peda­ gogy, social and political sciences, and agricultural sciences.

Motives for Career Choice: Job Satisfaction and Self Assessment Social prestige often determ ines the choice o f the type o f education a w om an chooses, but the type o f education often has little to do w ith the content o f the jo b taken after graduation. N early half (45 percent) o f the w om en in the sam ple stated that they w ere placed in adm inistrative posi­ tions against their w ill and that they w ould prefer to be specialists in their professions rather than adm inistrators. Typical w ere such statem ents as: “ I have alw ays w anted to be a specialist, not a fu n ctio n ary ,” “ the deci­ sion for the transfer to the new post, to a responsible organizational posi­ tion, w as not m y d e c isio n ,” “ I am a teacher by profession and I have never w anted to be an ad m in istrato r,” “ M y love w as for the children and the w ork as a teacher for 17 years and I cam e to this job alm ost with tears in m y eyes. But w ork in the adm inistrative and m anagerial field is a ques­ tion o f political decision and a personnel p o lic y .” One reason for the dissatisfaction that w om en express w ith their m ana­ gerial careers is related to the prelim inary training and social expectations o f w om en in Bulgarian society. A bout 30 percent o f the w om en sam pled specifically expressed a desire to perform adm inistrative and m anagerial w ork. H ow ever, w hen questioned, they indicated that they w ere m ore m otivated by the desire to w ork w ith people than by the desire to exercise

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

power or by the opportunity for independent decision-m aking. Specific differences exist between men and women in this regard. Men connect their professional and personal self-satisfaction to a considerably greater degree with the status characteristics of the post they occupy and with the possibility for greater power. W om en’s m otivations for the acceptance of a job in state administration are primarily connected with the possibility of working with people. The remaining 25 percent of the sample did not express any particular attitude towards the developm ent o f their careers. They considered their careers part of a natural process w hereby, during the course o f their w ork­ ing life, their strengths had been assessed and properly directed. Only one woman had a family tradition of m anagement careers. She had parents who were directly involved in state m anagement and she herself had started to do social and organizational work as a teenager. In sum m ary, the career developm ent o f women in administration depends more on the initial talents of women as specialists and on the needs o f the organization rather than on the personal desires and goals of the women them selves.

Self Assessment One segment of the interview asked the respondents to assess their own social recognition and prestige in the eyes of other people. About 40 per­ cent o f the women (m ainly those who preferred their specialty to their administrative jobs) thought that the main recognition they have received had come from their specialist colleagues and not from the status of the administrative position they now hold. All o f the women interviewed con­ sidered their prestige to be high enough in the eyes of the organization in which they hold an administrative post; however, only a third of the women felt that the prestige they now comm and was due to the adm inis­ trative post they now hold. Prospects for career advancem ent is another indicator of the self assess­ ment o f wom en. Over 60 percent of the respondents sincerely state that they do not desire further promotion as administrators. Those who do have higher ambitions connect that ambition with the quality of the work to be perform ed, with the possibility for greater creativity, and with the im ­ provement o f their own qualifications. A second group o f wom en desire prom otion within the organization in which they now w ork, not for them ­ selves but for the sake o f the organization and its m ission.

Nora Ananieva and Evka Razvigorova

The Choice o f Career and Family-Career Relationships T he sam ple exhibited considerable divergence concerning the factors influencing their choice o f career. One third o f the w om en indicated that they m ade an independent choice. A bout 20 percent w ere influenced by their fathers. The rem aining w om en w ere influenced by a variety of d i­ verse factors: their relatives, the fam ily as a w hole, teachers, friends. The help and support w hich these w om en now have in their careers com es prim arily from a narrow circle o f colleagues and relatives. About 45 per­ cent o f the w om en m entioned their husbands. Most w om en felt that they had support and understanding from their husbands. In m ost cases, the qualifications o f the husband and w ife w ere about equal. In the sam ple of 18 m arried w om en, only tw o w om en had husbands w ho had less educa­ tion than they. One husband had a secondary education and one had a college education. T he rem aining husbands all had higher education. One w om an in the sam ple w as divorced. One w as a w idow , and one w as not m arried. O ne w om an had three children; how ever, the rest had either one or tw o children. All the m arried w om en indicated that their husbands su p ­ port them in principle, but that they still cannot alw ays rely on their help in the fam ily and household chores. H alf o f the w om en interview ed specifically stated that no one helps them with the housekeeping w ork. One third indicated that their husbands help (an average o f 10 hours per w eek), and the rem ainder o f the wom en did not respond to this question. The m ajority (60 percent) o f the sam ple stated that they w ould direct their ow n daughters tow ards a professional career. A bout 28 percent (5 w om en) stated a preference for the w om an to pay m ore attention to the fam ily, to be a good m other, w ife, and house­ w ife. T w o w om en (11 percent) thought the best policy w as to com bine profession and fam ily duties in an optim al w ay.

CONCLUSION T his study show s that w om en’s careers in public adm inistration are the result o f a com plex interaction o f factors: econom ic, political, ideologi­ cal, legal and socio-psychological. The socialist revolution gives priority to the political and ideological factors. The im pact o f these political and ideological changes, com bined w ith the objective needs o f accelerated social and econom ic developm ent, have had a cum ulative effect allow ing w om en to enter all fields o f public production in B ulgaria. The grow ing

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

levels o f education and training for w om en, w hich are the result o f this process, in turn determ ines the inevitable m arch o f w om en (although at a slow er rate) into leading m anagerial positions in public adm inistration. C ritical to this process have been specific legal policies adopted by the state w hich have enhanced the ability o f w om en to m ove into m anagerial positions. The unsolved problem s that continue to present barriers to the advancem ent o f w om en are due in part to the failure to adhere to these legal principles, in part to the practical difficulties o f releasing w om en from their traditional daily chores, and in part to the subjective attitudes of both m en and w om en regarding new roles for w om en.

REFEREN CES Dimitrov, Blagoev D.G. 1979. About Women and the Family. Sofia: Ot. Front. Dinkova, M. 1980. The Social Portrait of the Bulgarian Woman. Sofia: Profizdat. Lenin, V.I. 1977. Collected Works. Moscow: Progress. Marx, K. and F. Engels. 1973. Sofia: BKP. Women and Labour: On some Socio-economic Problems of the Employment of Working Women. 1980. Sofia: Profizdat. Women in the People’s Republic of Bulgaria: A Statistical Handbook. 1984. So­ fia: Sofia Press.

W om en in Public A dm inistration in the N etherlands M onique L eyenaar

T his article review s the current position o f w om en in governm ental service as w ell as the concrete policies taken by the governm ent to in­ crease the num ber o f wom en em ployees. The first section describes the general situation o f w om en in the labor m arket in the N etherlands with special attention to those in governm ental service. T he second section discusses the policies taken by the governm ent to strengthen the position o f its w om en em ployees. The last section contains the result o f interview s held with w om en in the D epartm ent o f Econom ics and discusses other research findings concerning barriers for the advancem ent o f w om en in public adm inistration.

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE In the N etherlands, unlike other countries o f the E uropean C om m unity (E C ), w om en have never been a large part o f the labor force. From 1900 to 1960, w om en form ed around one-fifth o f the w orking population, a num ber w hich varied only slightly during this period. Significant changes did occur, how ever, in the kind o f w om en w ho participated in w age labor. At the beginning o f the century, 22.5 percent o f the w ork force engaged in w ork outside o f the hom e w ere w om en. Most w ere w orking class w om en and w ives o f shop-ow ners and farm ers. A steady rise in the standard o f living beginning in the fifties, a high postw ar m arriage rate, and the dictum s o f the Rom an C atholic and Protestant churches that m arried w om en belong at hom e, caused the w ithdraw al o f m any m arried w om en from the labor m arket and generated a decline in the percentage o f w om en in the w orking population from 24.4 percent in 1947 to 2 2.3 percent in 1960 (Central Bureau voor de Statistiek 1979, 1982). A fter 1960, the percent­ age o f w om en in the paid labor force increased rapidly. D uring this p e ­ riod, m arried w om en from all social classes w ere largely responsible for this increase. Betw een 1960 and 1981, the proportion o f em ployed mar© 1991 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

ried women rose from 7 percent to 33 percent. In 1960, women quit their jobs at the time o f marriage; in 1979, they left when the first child was expected. Seventy-five percent of m arried women under 35 years of age without children were employed compared to 16 percent of the same group with small children (Oudijk 1984, 192). Despite this rapid increase, the Netherlands have the lowest participa­ tion rate o f women in wage labor in the European Community: 35 percent compared to an average of more than 50 percent (except for Ireland) in the other European Com munity countries. Some explanations are: • the late start (end o f the 19th century) o f industrialization compared with Britain, France, and Belgium . At that tim e, capital had many cheap m ale workers at its disposal and no (great) need for women and children. • the fact that the Netherlands were not involved either in the war of 1870 in Europe, nor in W orld W ar I. As a consequence, no shortage of men occurred. • compared with other countries, the relatively high wages and social security benefits in the Netherlands permitted women to stay at home while their husbands were employed. • the role of the Dutch churches, which propagated the ideology of family and m otherhood. The discrepancy in female labor market participation between the N eth­ erlands and the other European Community countries is generated prim ar­ ily by women over 25 years of age. The increase in the num ber o f working women does not m ean, how­ ever, that the existing job segregation between women and men has disap­ peared. The expansion of the service and public sectors of the econom y, both of which employ a large number of w om en, is responsible for this change. O f the employed wom en in 1981, 84 percent had jobs in the service and public sectors compared to 55 percent o f the employed men. In 1963, 70 percent of the women and 41 percent o f the men had jobs in these two sectors (Central Bureau voor de Statistiek 1979, 1982). This sex segregation of occupations has not changed in the 1970s and 1980s. Onethird of all employed women work in four types o f occupations: salesper­ sons; secretaries or receptionists; administrative positions; and in ‘caring’ jobs such as nursing. (In com parison, one-third of all employed males work in 14 occupations.) The female labor force also differs in that half of the employed women work part-tim e, compared to only 5 percent o f em ­ ployed m en, and in that women constitute only 7 percent of those in m ana­ gerial and executive occupations (Oudijk 1984, 199).

43

Monique Leyenaar

O verall, the position o f Dutch w om en in the labor m arket is one in w hich fam ily responsibilities still determ ine the num ber o f w om en in the paid labor force, as w ell as the kind and the level o f the jo b s w om en o ccupy. The organization o f daily life takes the fam ily w ith an em ployed husband and a w ife at hom e as the norm .

WOMEN IN THE BUREAUCRACY A critical exam ination o f w om en em ployed in public adm inistration is im portant for several reasons. First, in the N etherlands the governm ent is the largest em ployer. Second, in 1981 alm ost half (49 percent) o f all e m ­ ployed w om en w ere in the public sector, and third, activities perform ed by the public sector to im prove the position o f its w om en em ployees may serve as an exam ple to other sectors. T he situation o f w om en in public adm inistration differs little from the general situation in the private sector. The overall percentage o f w om en em ployed in governm ental service in 1988 show s an increase com pared with 1976 (T able 1). Betw een 1976 and 1988, the num ber o f w om en increased by m ore than 50 percent, but the relative grow th w as about 6 percent. That w om en adm inistrators are still a long w ay from the top is illustrated by the huge incom e differences betw een w om en and m en. T he D utch G overnm ent uses six salary levels related to certain func­ tions w ithin the adm inistration. Level I is the lowest and level VI is the highest. In 1985, o f all w om en governm ental em ployees, 8 2 .9 percent

Table 1: Number of women in governmental scrvice

Xsai

# of women (rounded)

1976 1979 1982 1984 1985 1988

25,000 27,500 34,000 34,000 36,000 41,000

%women

of the total

18.5 19.1 21.8 22.7 23.2 24.6

Sources: Oudijk, 1984. and Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken 1985, 1986, 1989.

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

earned an incom e falling into the tw o low est categories com pared to 52.4 percent of all m en. As Table 2 show s, by 1988 these figures had changed slightly with men still retaining an advantage over w om en in the overall distribution o f incom e but also a slight advantage in the rate o f increase in the top tw o salary levels. That w om en on the average are paid less than men can be explained only partly by the fact that w om en are on the aver­ age younger in age. W ithin each age category, wom en also are paid less than their m ale colleagues. Finally, m ore than one-third o f the w om en in public service w ork part-tim e com pared to only 2.5 percent o f the m en (M inisterie van B innenlandse Zaken 1985, 5). Besides the vertical segregation described above, horizontal segrega­ tion also exists. The percentage o f w om en differs w idely according to departm ent. At the tim e o f the interview s in 1985, the percentages o f w om en em ­ ployed in the D epartm ent o f T ransport and the D epartm ent o f Education varied from 14.2 percent to 37.5 percent respectively. Eight departm ents em ployed m ore than 30 percent w om en adm inistrators and five had less than the average o f 23.2 percent. A m ong the latter are the D epartm ents of Finance, A griculture, T ransport, and D efense, all sectors w here w om en have not been em ployed traditionally. Table 3 indicates that betw een 1985 and 1988, all departm ents except Justice increased the percentage of w om en slightly. Sum m arizing, the increase in the percentage o f w om en em ployed in public adm inistration is sm all; in m ost years not even 1 percent per year.

Iahle.2: Income position of women and men in public administration 1983 and 1988 Salary level

Women(Ä) 1985 1988

MenfKl 1988 1282

I (scale 1-3) II (scale 4-6) III (scale 7-9) IV (scale 10-12) V (scale 13-15) VI (scale 16)

35.3 47.6 11.5 5.2 0.5 0.1

17.8 34.5 29.5 14.8 2.5 0.8

Total % Total Number

100 36,380

25.2 48.9 17.2 7.2 1.2 0.3

too 41,069

too 120,400

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs, 1985, 1989.

12.2 27.6 38.7 16.2 4.0 1.3

100 127,767

Total 1985 1988 21.9 37.6 25.3 12.6 2.0 0.6

100 156,786

15.4 32.8 33.4 14.0 3.3 1.1

100 166,836

Monique Leyenaar

45

Table 3: Percentage of Women the Different Departments, 1985 1988 DeDartment

1985

1988

Education General Affairs

37.5 36.1

39.0 39.2

4,269 441

Internal Affairs Culture

34.9 34.8

34.6 34.8

3,419 8,034

Justice Foreign Affairs

34.0 31.8

25.7 39.0

19,119 1,748

Employment and Social Security Economic Affairs

31.7 27.3

34.6 28.4

7,395 6,761

Housing and Environment Agriculture and Fisheries Finance Defense Transport

22.5 22.1 19.8 16.0 14.2

23.9 22.2 23.7 17.8 16.5

8,591 11,201 34,458 29,534 20,367

Total jp DçBanro.çni 1985

Source: Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken. 1985, 1989.

F u rth e rm o re , w ith in the d e p artm e n ts, w om en e m p lo y e es e xperienced v ery little u pw ard m ob ility .

A CASE STUDY: THE D EPARTM ENT OF ECONOM ICS T o obtain m ore inform ation c o n cern in g the structural and psychological b arriers that exclude w om en from the higher ech e lo n s o f the public se r­ v ic e , all tw elve w om en em p lo y ees in scales IV , V and V I (see T able 2) w o rk in g at the M inistry o f E conom ic A ffairs w ere interview ed p ersonally in the su m m er o f 1985. A t this tim e, 2 7 .3 percent o f the D epartm ent o f E conom ic A ffairs em p lo y ees w ere fem ale. T h e D epartm ent ranked eighth in the list o f m inistries w ith regard to the p ercentage o f w om en em p lo y ees (see T able 3 ). Since o nly 15 percent o f all univ ersity eco n o m ics stu d en ts are fe m a le , the sub ject area o f this departm ent is regarded as a non-typical w o m e n ’s area. T hose w om en in p o sitio n s requiring a univ ersity degree in the departm ent g en erally had a law deg ree. T able 4 show s that the earn-

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

Table 4; Income position of women and men working at the Department of Economics in 1985 Women & Men M en* Total Number Salary Level Women» I II III IV v VI

34.0 50.1 9.7 5.6 0.2 0.2

10.2 24.0 30.0 29.3 4.6 2.0

Total * %of both Women and Men

100.0 27.3

100.0 72.7 6761

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs. 1985.

ings o f 93 percent o f the fem ale em ployees in the D epartm ent fall in the lowest three categories com pared to 74 percent o f all the m ale em ployees. F indings: p erso n a l background. The age o f these tw elve fem ale civil servants varied betw een 32 and 64, w ith 75 percent o f the interview ed w om en being betw een 32 and 40 years old. All held university degrees. O f these, seven w ere law degrees. O nly one w om an had a degree in eco ­ nom ics. O f the interview ed w om en, tw o w ere m arried w ith very young children and four others lived w ith a partner. O ne w om an had tw o ch il­ dren, two and four years old, the other had one child, tw o years old. The m ajority o f those interview ed w ere still in doubt about starting a fam ily. All recognized that m otherhood w ould drastically dim inish their career chances. T hey w ere aw are o f the negative attitudes o f chiefs confronted with pregnancy and m otherhood. The tw o m others in the sam ple both w orked full-tim e. O ne had a full-tim e childm inder at hom e; the other had a husband w ho cared for the child. The departm ent provided child care for only five children in a nearby center, and has m ade no other arrangem ents to accom m odate the reproductive needs o f its em ployees. F indings: career pla n n in g . In the N etherlands, the public sector is o r­ ganized in a strictly hierarchical w ay. W om en in lower paying adm inistra­ tive positions have difficulty advancing into higher paying policy m aking or low er m anagem ent jo b s. For jobs that fall into salary level IV and upw ards, a university degree is required. Entry begins in a ju n io r policy m aking position and career advancem ent m eans a m anagem ent jo b . The num ber o f people one directs is indicative o f the status o f the jo b . At the time o f this study only three w om en had a m anagem ent position in the

Monique Leyenaar

47

Departm ent o f Econom ic A ffairs. Most o f the wom en w ho were inter­ view ed expressed the wish to improve their career status. Surprisingly, alm ost none m entioned the desire to apply for a job in the private sector. The few w ho did not want to rise on the career ladder com m ented on the num ber of hours one is expected to work in managem ent positions and the necessity o f exposing oneself to tough com petition. W ithout exception, the interviewed wom en com plained about the “ lack of career guidance” from the personnel departm ent. Although it is not a formal rule, in general, vacant higher managem ent positions are not openly announced. Persons in question are usually asked to apply for the vacant jo b . Visibility consequently is very im portant. T his leads to an­ other com plaint: the existence o f an old boy’s netw ork. Male senior civil servants see each other frequently and divide the jobs betw een their own protégés. For exam ple, the secretary-general o f the Departm ent of Eco­ nom ic A ffairs has surrounded him self with young m ale newcom ers mainly from the faculty of Econom ics o f the University of Rotterdam (the university where the secretary-general him self is appointed for one day a w eek as a professor in econom ics). Practices o f this kind lessen the chances for wom en to advance. A few w om en, how ever, mentioned that being one o f the few wom en enhances o n e ’s visibility, which can be an advantage. Findings: attitude towards women. The general attitude of department m anagem ent towards the em ploym ent o f wom en w as positive. Many re­ spondents noted that this depended largely on the attitude of top m anage­ m ent. Som e interviewed wom en stated that in contrast to m ost o f the top m anagers, m iddle m anagem ent is m ore conservative in its attitude. Many m iddle m anagers still consider the hiring of wom en as a risk, since women as a group m ay need special arrangem ents such as flexible w orking hours, m aternity leave, and sick leave to care for their children. For such middle m anagers, two wom en on their staff o f ten is more than enough. W ithin the Departm ent o f Econom ics in 1983, a w orking group was established, called “ het E m ancipatieberaad” (the Em ancipation C ouncil), to advise the personnel department on internal policy m aking concerning the em ploym ent and advancem ent of wom en. This group organizes regu­ lar m eetings for wom en em ployees in the departm ent. One of the results o f the w orking group w as that after a survey organized to assess the need for child care, a facility for five children was created. Findings: g en d er differences in work styles. The view that wom en ad­ m inistrators function differently from men is held by quite a few research­ ers o f m anagem ent styles and w as again confirm ed by the interviewed

48

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

wom en. The perceived differences did not concern the content or the out­ come o f their w ork, but were more related to how the work was done. A large majority (10 o f the 12 interviewees) identified the following differ­ ences: • a less hierarchical attitude and behavior towards the secretarial staff. • an intention to discuss problem atic m atters bilaterally first, before bringing them to the attention of higher placed administrators (less competitive). • an eye for personal problem s o f the staff and an openness to discuss these problem s (other directed caring). • a need to socialize with colleagues (m ingling o f private and working matters). Findings: positive discrimination. Although formally positive action is part o f governmental policies, most of the interviewed women adm inistra­ tors are strongly opposed to the use of a quota. Only three women took a positive stand, stressing the fact that the position of women in the public service needed this catching-up maneuver. For them , an even better policy would be the replacem ent o f one-third o f the higher m anagem ent by women at one tim e. The women opposed to quota setting noted the dan­ gers of stigm atization. W hen em ployees were not appointed on the basis of their capacities, but because o f their sex, a devaluation o f all women in higher positions can be one o f the consequences. In addition, it appeared from the interviews that many respondents are not attracted to feminism and feminists. Although a m ajority were in favor o f equal opportunity policies, these women associated feminism with demonstrating and riot­ ing. On the w hole, the interviewed women were not very satisfied with the career opportunities within the Departm ent. Although they perceived the attitude of the Department towards wom en em ployees as fairly positive, they believed much still needed to be done about career guidance. In their view , the main problem was the lack of structural adaptations within the organization, making it easier for wom en to combine working outside the house with rearing children. Many people within the bureaucracy still hold the view that despite the differences in roles, no exceptional m ea­ sures should be taken for wom en. To put it bluntly, a woman adm inistra­ tor sees her career ending the moment she decides to become a m other. Although the general attitude of the Department towards hiring women is positive, the Department refuses tc create the more flexible organization that women need in m atters o f working hours, child care facilities, and career opportunities.

Monique Leyenaar

49

F indings fro m o th er studies. T hese conclusions are supported by other studies probing sim ilar issues. In a survey am ong w om en w orking in local governm ent, an open-ended question asked w hether the w om en experi­ enced barriers (and if so, w hich) in their task perform ance. O ne-third of the interview ed w om en m entioned the lack o f career prospects, inflexible w orking hours, and the unaccom m odating arrangem ents for leave as b arri­ ers, w hile 18 percent identified problem s related to the organizational structure such as the hierarchical decision structure and the m ale d om i­ nated w ork-culture (K ring van G em eentersecretarissen 1985, 42). T able 5 illustrates the rem arkably large difference betw een w om en and m en in their w ish for career advancem ent, and the fact that pregnancy is by far the m ost im portant reason w om en give for quitting their jo b s in the civil service. The study indicates further that 31 percent o f the w om en w ho resigned for reasons o f pregnancy w ould have considered continuing to w ork if a day nursery had been available; 20 percent o f them w ould have rem ained if a part-tim e jo b had been offered to them ; and 49 percent w ould have left anyhow . Both m en and w om en w ere asked what sort o f circum stances at w ork constituted a reason to leave. T he im portant rea­ sons for m en w ere: the low salary level available to them , the lack of career prospects, and the w ork atm osphere. W om en em ployees, how ever, stressed the w ork atm osphere and the m onotony o f their w ork, but the salary level m eant m uch less to them (M inisterie van B innenlandse Zaken 1984, 11).

Table 5: Reason» for resignation

W omen** Promotion opportunities elsewhere Circumstances at work Pregnancy Personal circumstances

16 18 50 28

Total number of responses for both men and women was 308.

* more than one response was allowed

Source: Ministerie van Birmenlandse Zaken. 1985.

Men* 72 38 18

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY POLICIES Against the background of the “ second emancipation wave” of the late sixties, the government began in 1974 to adopt policies to improve the position of women in the labor market. The Ministry of Culture, Recrea­ tion, and Social Work (CRM) which was in charge of the coordination of emancipation policy at that time, established two governmental commit­ tees: a National Committee “ Year of the W om en,” and an Advisory Committee for Emancipation. Amid some controversy, the latter managed to produce about one hundred recommendations. The government had not solicited most of this advice and chose to ignore most of it. The following recommendations from the Committee, however, were transformed into actual policy. • the appointment in 1977 of an under-secretary for emancipation, attached to the Department of Culture, Recreation and Social Work. (The first under-secretary was a Christian-Democrat. She was suc­ ceeded in 1981 by a member of the Dutch Labor Party. The last under-secretary was from the Liberal Party. By 1985, the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment had assumed responsibility for this policy area.) • the designation of emancipation as “ facet policy,” meaning that w om en’s liberation was not a phenomenon to be isolated in one department; it should instead be an aspect of policy in every depart­ ment. In 1977, the government established an interdepartmental committee for emancipation policy (ICE). Members of intradepartmental committees represented their departments in the ICE. • the establishment of a Council for Emancipation to succeed the Ad­ visory Committee for Emancipation. One consequence of the “ facet policy” of emancipation was that Ministers from other departments were obliged to ask the Council’s advice on every piece of legisla­ tion they planned to introduce. During the first period, roughly from 1974 to 1981, the goal of govern­ mental emancipation policy was to change people’s attitudes, opinions and mentalities concerning the roles of women and men. Education was considered the proper weapon to attack current beliefs with regard to men and women and to prevent future prejudice. Second Chance Comprehen­ sive schools for “ mothers” attracted a large number of eager students. Meanwhile, sons and daughters were educated using properly screened teaching material, in which papa did not merely “ fume une pipe” but

Monique Leyenaar

51

w ashed the dishes as w ell. As time progressed, more and more people cam e to realize that the inferior position of wom en in society was funda­ m entally rooted in social-econom ic structures. As a consequence, the un­ der-secretary and her adm inistrative staff were moved from the D epart­ ment o f Culture, Recreation, and Social W ork (CRM ) to the M inistry of Em ploym ent and Social Security. This department is generally seen as a “ heav ier,” more important departm ent than the C RM , m aking this change appear to be a political prom otion to som e. Initiated by a socialdem ocratic under-secretary for Emancipation and adm inistered by a lib­ eral under-secretary, an Emancipation Program for 1985-1990 was pre­ sented to and accepted by the Second Cham ber in 1986 with many policy initiatives in several areas. One o f these areas is the employm ent of wom en in the public sector.

Parliamentary Activities From time to tim e, the Dutch Second Cham ber has explicitly drawn attention to em ancipation policy within the civil service as in 1977, when the parliam ent declared itself in favor o f an affirm ative action program within the civil service. Ever since a 1979 motion asked for positive action in governm ental recruitm ent policy, recruitm ent advertisem ents have been decorated with the following phrase: The central government would like to em ploy more wom en. Therefore, they are especially invited to apply. The parliam ent further expanded the application o f positive action when it passed a motion requiring the use o f positive action to retain greater num ­ bers o f wom en during the implementation of forced retirem ent policies.

Legal Developments Since July, 1980, a law on the equal treatm ent o f men and women in civil public service has been in force. According to the first article of this law , authorities are forbidden to discrim inate between men and women either directly or indirectly (for instance, by referring to family circum ­ stances or marital status). Exceptions to this rule are allowed only: (1) in cases where the sex o f the applicant is directly relevant (e .g ., opera sing­ ers); (2) to protect wom en (this concerns prim arily rules dealing with pregnancy or m otherhood); (3) in cases where one is acting in favor o f a certain sex which has been discrim inated against in the past. Positive action is legally based upon this article.

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

P olicy M easures In 1976, a working group for “ Emancipation and Part-time W ork as Aspects of Governmental Policy” (EDO) was established. The EDO re­ ports showed the need for a structural policy to strengthen the position of women employees. A new committee was form ed, the Committee for Internal Emancipation Policy in the Civil Service (CIER), with the special task o f translating general emancipation principles into concrete policy m easures which could be implemented imm ediately. Members of the CIER were functionaries dealing with emancipation in the different de­ partments. In due tim e, three CIER reports were produced concerning three different policy areas. Report 1: Recruitment and Selection. This CIER report identifies sev­ eral ways to facilitate the entrance of women into the public service. Rec­ om m endations call for changes in function requirem ents. For most gov­ ernmental jobs a particular kind of schooling is required. Instead of requiring a certain educational level, the report recommended that the government ask for “ function related activities and/or experience.” The report suggested that selection com m ittees be mixed as much as possible, on the assum ption that a woman applicant will have more self-confidence when a m ember of her own sex is on a recruitm ent comm ittee. A second CIER recom mendation in this report was to change the use of absentee statistics to differentiate leaves due to pregnancy from those due to sickness. When both types of leave are conflated, the statistics indicate that women are ill more frequently than men. Report 2: Training and Education. The CIER recognized that w om en’s participation in departmental training programs should be expanded. The report recom mends that in choosing candidates for training, supervisors should discriminate in favor of wom en. In addition, more training should be provided for those in lower staff positions (where most wom en are). The report recom mends that education occur at appropriate times and that special facilities be created for part-time workers. If possible, childcare ought to be provided. The contents of teaching m aterial should be screened for discrim inatory rem arks, and where necessary, special (inter­ departmental) courses on social skills for wom en should be established. Report 3: Career Planning. On the whole, w om en’s careers tend to be less spectacular than m en’s. Many women never reach the higher echelons of the civil service despite their qualifications. Because pregnancy and m otherhood cause women to quit their jobs, CIER recommended an ex­ tension of child care facilities, a special kind of career-planning for part­

Monique l^yenaar

53

tim e w orkers and the developm ent o f careers with a built-in break (the N etherlands to date has no extended paternity leaves). A part from these three reports, C IER asked for em ancipation w orkers in the different m inistries to generate departm ental plans, preferably c o n ­ taining target fig u re s. By early 1987, five o f the thirteen departm ents had com plied w ith this request. The m ajority o f these plans, how ever, arc plans in preparation and none o f them contain target figures. Apart from this, in 1982, all departm ents w ere requested to transform 30 percent of their full-tim e jobs into part-tim e work and an interdepartm ental w orking g roup began investigating the possibilities for ch ild care. Sum m arizing, the num ber and direction o f these policy m easures reflect considerable goodw ill; how ever, to date, these policies have had very little effect. Part o f this is due to the dearth o f sanctions available to im ple­ m ent these policies. U nw illing personnel officers can easily ignore all of these policies w ith im punity.

C O N C L U S IO N D espite the efforts governm ent has taken to stim ulate the entrance and upw ard m obility o f its w om en em ployees, the overall figures are not im ­ pressive; w om en adm inistrators, especially in the higher echelons, are still very few in num ber. T hose w ho started in ju n io r positions experience m any barriers to career advancem ent. One o f the m ore general problem s is the existing pattern o f gender roles: m ore than half o f the w om en civil servants w ho leave their jo b s do it for reasons o f pregnancy. For those w om en w ho pursue a career in public adm inistration, the choice continues to be betw een career and children. A lack o f facilities as well as the nega­ tive attitude o f personnel officers w ho are afraid o f deviant cases, are both strong barriers in the process o f upw ard m obility for w om en. A s long as departm ents are unw illing to accom m odate the needs o f w om en for m ore flexible hours and for child care, the position o f w om en will not im prove, in spite o f the general political clim ate that supports the hiring o f more w om en.

R E FE R EN C ES Centraal Bureau voor de Staiistiek. 1979, 1982. Stalislisch Zakboek. The Hague: Staatsuitgeverij. Kring van gem eentesecretarissen in Noord K ennerm erland. 1985. Enqueie onder werkneemsters van de gemeente Noord Kennemerland. The Hague: Ministry of Internal A ffairs.

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Ministry of Internal Affairs. 1985. De oorzaak van het verloop onder vrouwen en mannen. The Hague: Ministry of Internal Affairs. Ministry of Internal Affairs. 1985. Emancipatie in Cijfers: 1984. The Hague: Ministry of Internal Affairs. Ministry of Internal Affairs. 1989. Emancipatie in Cijfers: 1988. The Hague: Ministry of Internal Affairs. Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken. 1 9 8 4 ,1 9 8 5 ,1 9 8 6 , 1989. De oorzaak van het verloop onder vrouwen en mannen. The Hague: Ministry o f Internal Affairs. Oudijk, C. 1984. De Sociale Atlas van de Vrouw. The Hague: Staatsuitgeverij. Swiebel, J. 1986. “ Het emancipatiebeleid onder het kabinet Lubbers: prelude tot een grote verdwi intruc?” paper presented at the annual meeting of the Dutch Association of Political Science, Amersfoort.

Women in Public Administration in the Federal Republic of Germany M onika Langkau-H errm ann Ellen Sessar-K arpp

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE IN WEST GERMANY Since the end of W orld W ar 1!, wom en have constituted over one-third o f all em ployed persons in the W est Germ an labor force. W omen still suffer num erous disadvantages in working life, and their position in the labor market is by no m eans secure. W omen earn 34 percent less than m en. Most female blue-collar workers (94 percent) are unskilled or sem i­ skilled as opposed to only 42 percent of their m ale colleagues. More than half o f all wom en presently work in only six occupations (office w orkers, retail clerks, health services, janitorial occupations, agricultural occupa­ tions, teachers). O f those wom en w orking in industry, com m erce, and insurance, 54 percent had no sphere of decision-m aking or responsibility o f their ow n on the jo b , as com pared to only 15 percent of male em ployees in these areas. Finally, roughly one-third o f all w orking wom en have parttime jobs (34 percent in 1983), and two-thirds o f all working women report interrupting their em ploym ent for family reasons.

WOMEN IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR The situation o f women in the public service in the Federal Republic is particularly significant because the governm ent is one o f the most im por­ tant em ployers of wom en and is in a position to set an exam ple for private industry. This article reports on the present status o f women in public service in the Federal Republic of G erm any as determ ined from statistical information as well as from a series o f empirical investigations by the authors. These include: data from interviews in 1985 with 24 top women © 1991 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

administrators in 7 Federal M inistries and in two state authorities, and information gathered in 1981-82 from a survey o f 80 wom en (18 of whom were in the top grade) and 24 men in the public service (Langkau-H er­ rmann et at. 1983). Since the beginning of the 1960s, the em ploym ent rate for women in the public sector has risen from 25.6 percent to 39 percent in 1983 (in central government service from 17.5 percent in 1960 to 23.9 percent in 1983). As Table 1 indicates, only 16.7 percent o f the full-time employees were women and almost half o f ail wom en em ployees w orked part-time. Part-time workers are almost entirely female (95 percent). W om en’s representation in positions of responsibility and power is very limited (Table 2). Less than one percent of full-time women in the central government service are in the top grade, while only 6.3 percent are in the upper grade. Only 11 percent of all civil servants in the more prestigious central government service are women (Statistische Bundesamt 1983). None of the permanent undersecretaries employed in direct government service are wom en. O f the 128 heads o f subdivisions, only 7 are w om en, and of the 1963 department heads, only 60 are women (M inister for Home A ffairs 1983). W hile women arc heavily underrepresented in the top grade, prom o­ tions for women and opportunities for additional training for the few women in these ranks are the same as for m en. Table 3 shows that in all Table L Personnel in direct government service 1983 Status

women

govemment officials white collar workers blue collar workers

%

1,072,560

179,248

16.7

part-time employed*

84,555

80,358

95.0

part-time employed**

23,827

22,105

92.8

1,180,942

281,711

23.9

ftjli-time employed

total employed

• with at least half o f the normal working hours per week. ** with less than half of the normal working hours per week. The labor contracts of the public service exclude part-time workers with less than half of the normal working hours per week. Source: Persoruiel of the govemment on 30 June 1983. Wiesbaden.: Statistische Bundesamt.

Monika Langkau-Herrmann and Ellen Sessar-Karpp

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Table 2: Personnel in federal authorities according to grades

w omen

Total

t

I top grade upper grade middle grade lower grade

6,423 6,357 8,047 1,623

440 1,090 4,784 145

6.9 17.1 59.5 8.9

Source: Personnel o f the government on 30 June 1983. Wiesbaden: Statistische Bundesamt. Table 3: Promotions and career advancements in federal authorities 1980-1983 Women

Total 1 top grade upper grade middle grade lower grade

1,715 1,684 3,056 605

110 319 1,836 57

& 6.4 18.9 60.1 9.4

Source: Personnel o f the government on 30 June 1983. Wiesbaden: Statistische Bundesamt.

g r a d e s , w o m e n ’s p ro portion o f pro m o tio n s is about the sam e as the p ro ­ portion o f w o m en in each grade re sp ectiv ely . E vidence o f additional e d u ­ cation for w o m e n , ho w ev er, is nol as great as w o m e n ’s nu m b ers w ould w arran t in the u pper, m iddle and low er g rad es (T able 4). W om en in pub lic service c ontinue to b ear the m ain resp o n sib ility for fam ily and h o u se w o rk . T h is, co m b in ed w ith the fact that in the Federal R epublic sc h o o ls are usually in session o nly in the m o rn in g , helps to e x ­ plain w h y 95 percent o f the part-tim e em p lo y ees in the pub lic secto r are w o m e n . A s in the private se c to r, the jo b s for w om en in the pub lic sector are co n fin ed to “ typically fe m a le ” w o rk such as secretarial d u tie s, filing clerk d u tie s, and o th er m o n o to n o u s tasks w hich do not lead to p ro m o tio n s.

Legal Conditions Governing W om en’s Em ploym ent in Public Service W ith som e ex ce p tio n s, the legal co n d itio n s g o v e rn in g em ploym ent and adv an cem en t are the sam e for m en and w om en for all p ositions in the

58

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives Table 4; Participants in further education 1980-1983 in federal authorities

Women

Total

I top grade upper grade middle grade lower grade

3,879 3,691 2,094 405

273 425 821 9

& 7.0 11.8 39.2 2.2

Source: Persoruiel of the govemmeru on 30 June 1983. Wiesbaden: Statistische Bundesamt.

public service. Certain special regulations that are different for men and women govern employm ent in the customs and police service. Until late 1985, legal leave entitlem ents for m others existed for up to 6 m onths after childbirth and for either parent for up to 5 days per calendar year for caring for a sick child. The Federal Governm ent further facilitated the reconciliation of family duties and gainful employm ent in January, 1986, by introducing a “ child raising leave” which provides that after the eightweek protective period following childbirth, either parent may leave work to care for a child (until the child reaches the age o f 12 m onths) with a job guarantee and a monthly public allowance of DM 600. In addition, the law on part-time work and leave states that civil servants have a right to leave or part-time work (unpaid or reduced pay) up to half of their total working time for up to three years with the possibility o f extending the arrangement for up to 9 years for family reasons. This leave can be taken by either the mother or the father.

THE RESEARCH DESIGN In Spring, 1985, in-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted with a total of 24 wom en in leading positions in the Federal M inistry of Labor, the Federal M inistry of the Interior, the Federal M inistry for Youth, Fam ­ ily A ffairs, W omen and H ealth, the Federal Ministry o f Defense, the Fed­ eral Ministry o f Econom ics, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal M inistry of Justice, and the Federal Ministry o f Foreign Affairs (18 wom en) as well as two state authorities (6 w om en). W hile the heads of departmental sections are not officially counted as m anagem ent, the small num ber o f women working above this level made it necessary to include heads of departmental sections and above in the sam ple.

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Description o f the Sample: Position O f the 24 women interviewed, 18 held the position of head of a depart­ m ental section. Three o f the wom en were heads o f a subsection, two were heads o f a departm ent, and one wom an w as in the position of a permanent undersecretary. Only three respondents were able to name wom en in the m inistry above them . Apart from the wom en w orking in a position higher than head of departm ental section, the female heads o f departm ental sec­ tions were in jobs that em phasized traditionally female activities, such as youth, w om en, family affairs, and health. Other areas o f leadership for wom en were population policy, labor protection, tax policy, industrial policy, international organizations, and environm ental protection. Several wom en succeeded in ascending via a typical w om en’s departm ent to a departm ent having a higher status.

Description o f the Sample: Age, Marital Status, Education O nly three o f the questioned wom en were younger than 40 years, while 11 were from 40-50 years old. Seven were between 50 and 60, and 3 were over 60. W hile no statistics exist on the age structure o f men and women in m anagem ent positions in the public service, on the basis o f a randomsam ple survey conducted in two m inistries in 1981, three-fourths o f all female respondents in the upper grade or top grade, as opposed to twothirds of the m ale respondents, were over 40 years o f age. Perhaps the most noticeable difference betw een men and wom en in top m anagem ent positions is the low proportion o f married wom en am ong the respondents. Only 10 o f the 24 wom en were m arried (of these, one was separated), two were w idow ed, two divorced, and the rest were single. Only three w om en had children under the age of 10 (at the time o f the interview ), and only 7 had ever had children. These results support those o f the 1981 survey which show ed that the proportion o f married wom en in the top grade is much low er than the average in public service. (In 1981, 51 percent o f all em ployed wom en were m arried.) The m ajority (78 per­ cent) o f the men in the top grade were m arried, m ostly to unemployed w om en (Langkau-Herrm ann et al. 1983, 75). Schooling and occupational training is an important criterion for access to m any careers in the public service. Norm ally a university degree is the prerequisite for access to the top grade. Especially advantageous for entry to the top grade is a degree in law or econom ics. The rigid career structure in the public service, especially the inflexible assignm ent o f certain occu­ pational training levels to the individual career groups (low er, m iddle,

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

upper, and top grade), is responsible for the fact that only in exceptional cases do either male or female employees manage to rise to the next grade by participating in severe test procedures and taking special trainee courses. Experience shows that women are especially disadvantaged in obtaining the access and training prerequisites for the top grade, particu­ larly when the educational requirem ents stress degrees in law and eco­ nomics, areas where women have been historically underrepresented. The women respondents in m anagement positions all had university degrees. Six of them had a doctoral degree. Fourteen studied law and four studied econom ics. The remainder had degrees in politics, psychology, sociology, and languages.

Professional Development Almost all of the women in this study had a relatively continuous career in public service. About a third had consciously aspired to their careers. Most identified their motives for the top jobs to be: the wish to create som ething and carry it through, the desire for professional recognition, the desire to take part in political decision-m aking, the need to be creative, an interest in planning, organization, and a strong desire for information. A majority of the women stated that they had taken advantage of all professional opportunities offered to them . They often had advanced by ignoring “ well intentioned” advice from their social surroundings that in fact would have hindered their careers. This advice m ainly revolved around the fear that a m anagem ent position would be too great a strain for the wom en, and that a strong professional comm itm ent would have an unfavorable influence on their private and family lives. Most women in the sample experienced phases o f professional stagna­ tion due to personal or professional factors and did not have careers that developed in a straightforward w ay. The early death of a husband, or a divorce, caused upheavals in private life which greatly influenced these w om en’s advancem ent efforts. For women with children, stronger profes­ sional comm itm ent became possible only after the children had started to go to school. Most respondents identified their own personal qualities and m otiva­ tions as critical to their advancem ent. For som e, managing to obtain par­ ticular positions on the career ladder was important. In particular, many women said that the position of head of a departmental section was a milestone in their professional careers, one they had to fight to achieve (“ for me it was a question of, to be or not to b e” ). A nother group of respondents credited the im provem ent in the political clim ate favoring women for their advancem ent. A very small group of respondents m en­

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tioned support by their superiors as a factor (tw o o f these superiors were w om en).

Unfair Treatment in Professional Life A sm all m inority o f the respondents claim ed that discrim ination against w om en does not exist. T hese w om en have fully accepted the m ale norm s, including the ensuing consequences for their private lives. O ne respondent declared, “ If a w om an is w illing to renounce private and fam ily life in order to com m it herself com pletely to professional life, just like a m an, she will have equal opp o rtu n ities.” M ost o f the interview ed w om en, how ever, indicated that they had e x p e ­ rienced or observed discrim ination against w om en in a variety o f instances such as during the judgm ent o f perform ance (“ w om en never reccive e x ­ cellent m ark s” ), during prom otion (“ too slow , m en overtake w om en in term s o f prom otion, never the other w ay a round” ), and in the reduction of personnel in departm ents w hen a w om an is put in charge. D iscrim ination also takes place in the allocation o f w om en to “ so ft” duties (social, per­ sonnel m atters) unlike m en, w ho are given m ore appreciated “ h a rd ” d u ­ ties like econom ic or financial affairs. In m ixed team s, w o m e n ’s ideas and proposals tend to be ignored. D uring recruitm ent, m any o f the female respondents reported being confronted with prejudicial rem arks c oncern­ ing their suitability and aptitude (“ this business is too to u g h ,” “ fem ale superiors are an affront to older em p lo y e es,” or “ he does not want a fem ale” ). T hey w ere w arned that they could not perform the required duties o f a jo b in the foreign service or a jo b involving the testing o f m en. Finally, m arried w om en respondents experienced prejudice against them because o f their m arital status in that fathers w ere given precedence at prom otion tim e or they w ere called a “ double w age e a rn e r.” M ore indirectly, w om en felt discrim inated against because the top grade, especially in higher ranks still is a “ closed m ale h iera rch y ,” a “ m ale c o te rie .” The w om en, how ever, did not view as discrim ination the fact that the governm ent gives little consideration to the life circum stances o f w om en (the problem o f fam ily and job). M any o f the w om en interview ed stated that they had fought against being placed at a disadvantage by talking with superiors and staff council, and in rare cases, by declaring solidarity with w om en in other dep art­ m ents. M ost o f the w om en reported being successful in the use of aggres­ sive m ethods, several to the extent that they never had to suffer sim ilar handicaps again.

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

Attitude of Top Women Towards Their Jobs The women respondents in this study expressed a high degree of job satisfaction. On a scale o f one to five with five being “ discontent,” 19 women responded with a 1 or a 2, and none responded with less than a 3. In explaining this, most of the women mentioned the following as positive factors: the responsibility of the job, the opportunity “ to be b oss,” the high degree of autonom y (“ one is in charge of things,” “ one can get things going” ), the opportunity for free creative scope, the opportunity to participate in important decision-m aking, the opportunity to obtain in­ sights about important political power interests and arrangements. The work m otivations for women managers are not significantly different from the work m otivations of men with regard to the above characteristics. Male managers did differ from female m anagers, however, in their ability to offset the disadvantages of having a time consum ing, demanding job. Having limited or irregular leisure time and a restricted private life was more difficult for the female managers because of expectations that they also engage in family w ork. Single female managers complained that they have to pursue their career at the expense of personal relationships. They voice doubts about the value of “ renouncing” a happy family life, or whether they “ cheated them selves.” The married female managers stated that for the sake of private and family life, they did not pursue their pro­ fessional careers as vigorously as their male colleagues.

Leadership Styles of Women Managers All of the wom en interviewed described their leadership style as ori­ ented towards their colleagues and as “ dem ocratic.” Although they made the final decisions, the women arrived at their decisions after considerable consultation with co-workers. They explained that this process helped to establish a good working clim ate, motivated male and female colleagues, and ultim ately produced good results. The m ajority of the wom en inter­ view ed refused to make lone decisions in the form of strict orders and directions, in contrast to their male colleagues whom they felt often exhib­ ited such behavior. The responding women indicated that an authoritarian and impersonal leadership style would not be taken seriously by others. They also expressed a fear of being labelled a hard and bad female boss. Many indicated that the comm unicative style of leadership has disadvan­ tages. The democratic style may impede the swift accom plishm ent of du­ ties, especially in an efficiency-oriented organization. Another problem perceived by the respondents is that a democratic style will probably not lead to personal advancement and power as readily as a more demanding

Monika Langkau-Herrmann and Ellen Sessar-Karpp

6?

leadership style. The female respondents view ed the conflict between the behavioral dem ands o f the hierarchy (“ ability to assert o neself,” “ swift execution o f d u tie s ,” “ e ffic ie n c y ” ) and fem ale role expectations (“ friendly behavior of w om en,” “ avoidance o f aggressive behavior to­ w ards co-w orkers” ), not as a structural problem , but as a result of their own personal weaknesses. Some wom en critically characterized their own work style as “ having too much patience.” In contrast, the female m anagers favorably view ed male colleagues as having a rational and pragmatic work style that serves to accom plish tasks and assists career advancem ent. The women criticized some aspects of male work style, such as, (1) having an excessive desire to stand out, and (2) ruthlessly striving to advance one’s career often without regard either for the purpose of the work or for the consequences to partners. The respondents identified clear differences betw een men and women at the same professional level in the m ethods used to make presentations. The wom en describe them selves and other wom en in high level jobs as expressing their argum ents in strictly objective and precise language. They do not see this behavior as typical for their male colleagues of the same rank w ho often speak without m aking well-founded contributions (“ they are allowed to do this more than w om en” ). W omen in leading positions are still in an exceptional situation and are fully aware of this status. They weigh their words and decisions, because they know that they are especially visible and that their words and behav­ ior must w ithstand strong critical exam ination. Because the behavioral norm s of the bureaucracy are prim arily male (“ to push o n e ’s w a y ,” “ to aim at m axim um perform ance o f co-w orkers” ), wom en in high-level po­ sitions com bine male norm s with friendly presentations or som etim es even a m otherly attitude to develop their own individual behavioral pat­ terns. W omen m anagers consequently exhibit a broader range of styles than is the case for men. M any o f the wom en had a skeptical or even negative attitude towards the leadership style within their organizations. The main shortcom ings are, in their view , the m aking of major decisions too high in the hierarchy and the unreasonably strict regulation o f responsibilities according to rules o f procedure, with insufficient consideration being given to skills and abilities. The female respondents often noted that they bypass the formal hierarchical channels occasionally. They view their male colleagues as being much more conform ist with regard to hierarchical structures and procedures. The wom en view men as better at using a given hierarchy for their own professional advancem ent. They are better able to oppose unrea­

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

sonable demands from outside and to pass on duties which do not lie in their area of activity. In general, women in leading positions demonstrate only minimal adjustment to hierarchical structures. This hinders w om en’s professional advancem ent. To learn more about the specific attitudes of women in high level posi­ tions tow ards com petition and conflict, each respondent was asked whether she had a peaceful and cooperative work situation and/or whether she som etim es felt that the work situation resembled a battlefield. The reaction was highly varied. A fairly large number o f the women inter­ viewed felt that a peaceful workplace is desirable, but work without con­ flict is unrealistic. The golden mean is ideal, but “ if the matter itself demands it,” “ if it is a m atter affecting your very position,” one should not avoid conflicts and should attempt to prevail in the face of resistance. A small number o f women stressed that they enjoy confrontation and struggle, that peaceful cooperation is dull for them , and that given a peaceful work situation, they would probably try to find another job. An even sm aller group of respondents reported feeling at ease only in a har­ m onious work environm ent. They would forgo an interesting position in­ stead of accepting fierce struggles and confrontation. These few women openly indicated that they have problem s coping with male com petition. Overall, however, most of the women indicated that they readily compete and conflict with male counterparts, at least in cases where they deem it necessary.

WOMEN’S NETWORKS To ascertain whether women who are a m inority in male dominated higher echelons of public bureaucracies have access to the more informal circles of their colleagues o f equal or higher rank, the women respondents were asked whether they interact with a circle of persons who help them in their professional advancem ent. Only four respondents gave a spontaneously affirm ative answer to this question: one of them referred expressly to an otherwise purely male circle of acquaintances, while the others mostly referred to purely female con­ tacts in several public authorities. The women in question all know each other personally and provide mutual help with professional queries. About one-third of the respondents stressed that they merely cultivate loose contacts with women in sim ilar professional positions within the same public authority and/or with other public bodies. How ever, these women replied that they furnished mutual professional support and infor­ m ation, if necessary, but they avoided the idea of a network of profes­

Monika Langkau-Herrmann and Ellen Sessar-Karpp

65

sional contacts. They interpreted such an arrangem ent as too rigid and form alized. A nother third of the respondents admitted to having a strong feeling o f togetherness with other w om en, but shrank from comm on actions of solidarity designed to improve their professional situation. Three o f the respondents belong to a group o f wom en w ho meet at regular intervals in a restaurant but w ho attach greater im portance to the social rather than the professional aspects o f these m eetings. A sm all m inority o f the wom en stated that they do not m aintain any informal contacts with their colleagues, either male or fem ale, outside of required professional contacts. This attitude is prevalent am ong wom en in com pletely m ale-dom inated sectors where “ everyone fights her/his own battles,” as one wom an stated. O ccasionally, the interviews revealed that some wom en deliberately avoid closer contacts with other wom en o f equal rank —especially those from the same public authority (“ Anything but that!” ). They shun the m anifest appearance of these contacts at w ork, not to avoid professional com petition with other wom en but, because they fear the defensive reac­ tions of equal and more senior colleagues. They w orry that belonging to a female clique might put them in the w rong corner and make them seem ridiculous, a position that would lead to setbacks in professional advance­ m ent. A com parison o f surveys perform ed in 1981 and 1985 on this ques­ tion show s that in recent years even wom en in very senior positions have becom e more conscious o f their own professional isolation in a unilater­ ally m ale-shaped work environm ent (Langkau-Herrm ann et al. 1983). Social gatherings occur in most departm ents on the occasion of birth­ days and prom otions. Most respondents, how ever, do not like such events because they “ have no time for them ” or they believe that “ too much celebration takes place.” A pparently, the isolation o f wom en in top ranks em erges with particular clarity during informal m eetings, situations which generate uncertainty on both sides.

MENTORING ACTIVITIES B Y WOMEN The literature on this subject provides very different answers to the question o f how much wom en in high positions act to help other w om en, both to participate in leading functions and decisions and to advance pro­ fessionally (Schein 1975, 343). V .E . Schein believes that isolated women in top positions are so pressured to adjust to male power structures that they, like their m ale counterparts, decide in favor of men with regard to the selection o f applicants, prom otion, and the distribution o f tasks (Schein 1975, 343). The overw helm ing m ajority o f wom en respondents

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

declared that they often had opportunities during their professional activ­ ities to give support to other women in their own public authorities. Fur­ therm ore, they were able to name a wide range of supportive m easures. These ranged from giving personal advice and help to arranging talks with superiors and colleagues about work-related questions (such as further vocational training and advanced instruction, prom otion, transfer, parttime w ork, form ulation of applications, relations with colleagues, and information about the public authority in question). Over half of the re­ spondents stated that they either initiated or took part in the developm ent of m easures which are o f interest to women such as establishing a w om ­ en ’s section in their own public authority, developing guidelines for the prom otion of wom en, and founding w om en’s advice centers. With regard to personnel decisions, the results are less clear. A small m inority of women stated that they had system atically pursued a policy of recruitment and prom otion in favor of wom en. For this, they report hav­ ing been criticized by superiors and m anagem ent (“ you seem to want to engage women only’’). Furthermore, they recognized that if ultim ately successful, this policy could result in a certain devaluation o f their own work (a w om en’s departm ent). Most of the women respondents favored a balanced blend o f m ale and female colleagues. The women believed that such a blend would help balance the working styles of both males and females. Some respondents worried about having women constitute too big a portion of a department or section. A m inority o f the respondents preferred male colleagues, at least during the developm ent phase of their tasks, because they felt that men had greater prestige and were more as­ sertive. In general, most wom en report them selves to be tom between female solidarity and the m ale-oriented criteria governing the selection and evaluation of applicants in personnel m atters. Only a m inority o f the respondents had been able to evade the constraints that m itigate against the hiring o f female applicants to any large degree.

FACTORS HINDERING OR ASSISTING CAREER ADVANCEMENT The interviewees identified far more factors hindering the advancem ent of women than factors assisting such advancem ent. A m ong the most often m entioned obstacles were: (1) family comm itm ents; (2) lack of self confi­ dence; (3) lack of desire for advancement; (4) the preponderance of men in certain areas o f work and at the upper echelons of the bureaucracy; (5) the division of m en’s jobs and w om en’s jobs into “ hard” and “ easy” ; (6) the male dom inated administrative culture; (7) the attitude of the adm inistra­ tion towards female employees; and (8) the old boy’s network.

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67

In discussing the factors assisting the career advancem ent of wom en, som e o f the wom en questioned were unable to name any. The following factors w ere m entioned by a m inority in each case: (1) the grow ing pro­ portion o f wom en in the public sector; (2) the growing com petence, apti­ tude, education, and training o f wom en; (3) the developm ent o f an old girl’s network; (4) the increasing participation by wom en in political par­ ties and trade unions; and (5) the grow ing w om en’s movem ent in the Federal Republic o f G erm any.

CONCLUSIONS W om en in m anagem ent positions in the public service constitute a m i­ nority o f around 1 percent at the very highest grade, and no more than 6 percent at the upper grade. They operate in a workforce where role con­ flict for w orking wom en with children is very high. Part-time work for w om en is a very com m on practice, and fewer wom en than men obtain higher education. Because o f their m inority status, wom en are pressured to adapt to labor structures determ ined by m en. In their advancem ent en ­ deavors and in their treatm ent o f co-w orkers, top wom en m anagers often develop their own behaviors and strategies which distinguish them not only from wom en in typically female professions, but also from men in sim ilar positions. Most o f the responding wom en have consciously de­ cided to use a cooperative and com m unicating style o f leadership, which they see as a major precondition for m otivating subordinates and achiev­ ing a satisfactory working clim ate. They reject an impersonal m anage­ m ent style but realize that through these working m ethods they are lim it­ ing them selves and renouncing important pow er resources that their positions offer them in a hierarchically organized authority. Most respon­ dents view ed their female behaviors as personal w eaknesses rather than as structural contradictions or positive assets. To overcom e the isolation wom en in high m anagem ent positions expe­ rience, w om en’s netw orks have served as a counterbalance to the maledom inated informal circles and professional organizations which largely exclude w om en. In the organizations visited in this study, w om en’s net­ w orks appear in only rudim entary form . W hile many wom en in m anage­ ment positions realize the need for mutual support, these sam e wom en are very cognizant o f the negative retaliation that such netw orks might evoke from male colleagues. In general, most who participate in any sem blance o f a netw ork do so with caution. Data from this study indicate that W est Germ an wom en in leading posi­ tions, unlike their male colleagues, experience role conflicts and are less likely to adapt to hierarchical structures. This partly hinders their own

68

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

career progress. H ow ever, the m ore detached attitude o f wom en tow ards traditional adm inistrative structures is a potential source of change. W ere top w om en no longer an exceptional phenom enon and consequently under no pressure to conform to dom inant m ale norm s, w om en at the top could act to im prove the em ploym ent conditions for other low er ranking w om en. W ith no m ore than 6 percent in the upper grades, wom en do not yet constitute a critical m ass. T hey m ust continue to behave in carefully prescribed w ays if they are to m aintain their high positions.

STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE To achieve greater fem ale participation in m anagem ent positions in the public service, profound changes m ust occur in society as well as in the governm ental bureaucracies. Perhaps the m ost im portant and difficult of these is changing the sex specific division o f labor w hich w om en identify as the m ain source o f discrim ination against w om en in em ploym ent. The public service gears recruitm ent and prom otion to the m odel o f the m ale em ployee w ho is often free from fam ily tasks (m ostly because o f an unem ­ ployed w ife). Not only m ust the distribution o f fam ily roles be changed, but a social consciousness o f the fundam ental im portance o f fam ily duties, especially child-raising w ork, m ust be fostered and incorporated into law and in labor contracts for the public service. The norm o f the child care­ free m ale em ployee m ust be abandoned. As short term strategies, greater fem ale participation in m anagem ent positions could be obtained through: (1) giving preference to fem ale appli­ cants in jobs w here w om en have been underrepresented; (2) altering c a ­ reer ladder requirem ents that discrim inate against w om en; (3) m otivating w om en to obtain training in typical fem ale areas; (4) using affirm ative action plans to advance w om en into key positions; and (5) passing an antidiscrim ination act that punishes violations with effective sanctions. These are but a sam ple o f som e o f the strategies that deserve attention.

R EFEREN CES Langkau-Herrm an, M ., J. Langkau, R. W einert, R. Nejedlo. 1983. Frauen im öffentlichen Dienst. Bonn: Verlag Neue Gesellschaft. Minister for Home Affairs. 1983. Unpublished manuscript. Schein, V .E . 1975. “ Relationship Between Sex Role Stereotypes and Requisite M anagement Characteristics Among Female M anagers.” Journal o f Applied Psychology v. 60, n. 3. Statistische Bundesam t. 1983. Personal des Bundes am 30 Juni 1983. W eisbaden:

Women in Public Administration in Finland Sirkka Sinkkonen Eva Hànninen-Salm elin

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE Finnish wom en have a long history of participation in the labor force. In 1890, in H elsinki, about 39 percent o f all w orking age women were in paid labor. By 1900, this figure had grown to 55 percent (Jallinoja 1983, 225). In the whole country, 32 percent o f wom en in the non-agricultural population participated in the labor force in 1900 and 39 percent in 1920 (H aavio-M annila 1980, 11). In 1983, 73 percent o f all w orking age wom en were in the labor force, and almost half (48 percent) o f the total labor force consisted of wom en (Central Statistical Office 1985, 116). In 1987, one-fourth o f the total Finnish labor force (over 659,000 o f the 4 .9 m illion total population) was em ployed by the public sector. Twothirds o f these (about 448,000) w orked in the m unicipalities and their federations and one-third (about 211,000) worked with the state. The pub­ lic sector, especially the m unicipalities, is a large em ployer of w om en. Alm ost half (42 percent) o f the fem ale, but only 25 percent o f the m ale, labor force is in the public sector. The large m unicipal sector is dom inated by wom en; 75 percent o f its permanent m onthly salaried em ployees are w om en. In contrast, 60 percent o f the state em ployees are men (Central Statistical Office 1985, 23). W ithin both the public and the private econom ies, the gender distribu­ tion o f em ployees varies according to function. In Finland, the public sector involves the functions o f the state and the m unicipalities and is involved with a variety o f direct services to the people such as providing preventive and curative health care, education, children’s day care, social security, and other welfare services, as well as with activities that support the basic infrastructure o f the society, such as construction and m ainte­ nance o f roads, highw ays, and bridges; the rail, energy, and post and telecom m unication services. The m ajor areas o f em ploym ent in the pri© 1991 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

69

70

H'omen and Public Administration: International Perspectives

vale sector, where 75 percent o f the w orkers are m ale, are in industry, business, com m erce, insurance, and banking. M ales also dom inate staterun em ploym ent areas such as transportation services, roads, highw ays, police, and the arm y. A m ong state em ployees, only within the post and telecom m unication services are w om en included. In contrast, the m unici­ pal sector has a high proportion o f w om en because the m unicipalities and their federations are responsible for the traditionally fem ale functions of health and social services, prim ary and secondary school services, and part of vocational education. W om en have not alw ays dom inated the Finnish public sector. Finnish w om en first entered state em ploym ent on a perm anent basis in 1864 in the General D irectorate o f Post and T elecom m unication services. Despite this early entrance, the num ber o f w om en in the state public sector (the m unic­ ipal sector had not yet developed) w as relatively sm all w hen com pared to the relatively high labor force participation o f w om en. Career opportuni­ ties in the state w ere opened gradually for w om en partially through the granting of exem ptions and partly through the issuance o f statutes (K oskinen 1982). The first w om en entered state service in 1864 by e x ­ em ption. The first statute to open som e offices in the post and telecom m u­ nication services w as enacted in 1881, and w as follow ed by a series of other sim ilar statutes tow ards the end o f the century. In 1885, w om en statutorily achieved access to teaching positions in g irls’ schools. In 1897 cam e the statute perm itting w om en to function as physicians. The statute granting w om en access to lecturers’ jobs in w om en’s colleges, and the statute allow ing w om en to function as clerks (kanslisti, a supporting ad­ m inistrative job) in the N ational Board o f Education were enacted in 1898 (K oskinen 1982). W hile som e public offices w ere form ally opened to wom en at the end of the last century, these positions w ere restricted for a long tim e to unm ar­ ried w om en and to low level positions. No w om en were perm itted to hold responsible public positions until 1926. One restriction provided that m ar­ ried w om en be allow ed to handle public or private m oney only if their husbands w ould assum e financial responsibility for that m oney (H uhtanen 1983, 101). T his law rem ained in effect until 1930. As the econom y b e ­ cam e m ore industrialized and the dem and for labor increased, wom en were recruited into the public service to perform increasingly repetitious and low paying jo b s in the areas of collecting, handling, transm itting, and storing inform ation, accounting, auditing, and bookkeeping. T his served to further differentiate and sex segregate the public sector labor force.

Sirkka Sinkkonen and Eva Hanninen-Salmelin

71

THE CURRENT REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN THE FINNISH POLITICAL SYSTEM AND IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION A s Figure 1 show s, the legislative pow er in Finland is vested in the parliam ent w hose 200 m em bers are elected every four years by direct, secret, and proportional ballot. In the parliam entary elections in 1982, 32 percent o f the 200 M Ps elected w ere w om en. The highest position ever held by a w om an in the Finnish political-adm inistrative system is the first vice chairperson o f the Finnish Parliam ent, an office held by a w om an for the first tim e during 1975-1979. The President o f the Republic and the Council o f State (the Cabinet) have the highest executive authority. Finland has never had a w om an e i­ ther as president or as prim e m inister. The sm all Liberal party ran the first w om an presidential candidate in the election o f 1982. Due to the specific historical developm ent o f Finland, Finnish g o v ern ­ m ent com bines m inisterial departm ents and central boards. The 20 central boards, also called national boards, are rem nants o f Sw edish rule which lasted until 1809. The m inistries (now 13 in num ber) cam e from the p e ­ riod w hen Finland w as under R ussian rule (until 1917) and have their roots in the French type o f m inisterial system . T hese tw o types o f agencies with 3 ,2 2 9 em ployees in the m inistries and 5,791 em ployees in the na­ tional boards constituted the total personnel in central state em ploym ent in 1984. T he total num ber o f personnel in state em ploym ent in 1984 w as about 2 1 0,000. In 1987, the m inistries had 16 m inisters because three o f the m inistries had tw o m inisters (education, finance, and health and social w elfare). Four o f the 16 w ere w om en. T hey w ere the m inisters o f education, health, and the interior. Finland’s first w om an m inister w as M iina S illanpaa, a m inister o f social affairs from the Social D em ocratic Party in 1926-27. A second w om an m inister w as not appointed until 1944. She w as H ertta K uusinen from the C om m unist Party and w ithout a portfolio. The last Finnish C abinet w ithout a w om an m inister w as appointed in 1966 and sat until 1968. Since then, Finland has alw ays had one to four w om en m inis­ ters. M ost o f the w om en m inisters have been in only tw o m inistries, those o f education and social affairs and health, both traditional w o m en ’s role areas. O ccasionally, w om en have presided also over the m inistries o f agri­ culture and finance. The m inistries o f com m erce and industry, ju stic e , and interior have had a w om an m inister only once. The m inistries o f defense,

72

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

traffic, foreign affairs, labor, and environment have never had a woman minister (Skard and Haavio-Mannila 1985). In addition to the ministers who are political leaders, each ministry also has a permanent bureaucratic chief. These 13 highest civil servants in Finland have always been men. In the mid-1980s, only one woman was in

FIGURE 1. Structure of public administration in Finland [c e n tr a l g overn m en t l e v e l ]

Sirkka Sinkkonen and Eva Hanninen-Salmelin

73

the second highest level o f the civil service w hich includes the 20 directorgenerals o f the 20 adm inistrative national boards. She w as in the National Board o f Social W elfare, w hich has had a tradition o f having a fem ale director-general since the 1960s. All other national boards have alw ays been headed by m en. D irectly under the chiefs o f the m inistries and the national boards are the heads o f the departm ents. U nder them are the heads o f the bureaus and, in som e m inistries, the heads o f the sections or divisions (See Figure 1). At the departm ent head level, w hich is the third highest level in the h ierarchy, tw o o f the 61 departm ent heads w ere w om en in 1986. One of these w om en headed the D epartm ent o f Research in the m inistry o f Health and Social A ffairs from 1968 to 1987 w hen she retired due to age and was replaced by a m an. The other w om an has headed the D epartm ent o f Physi­ cal Planning and C onstruction in the new M inistry o f E nvironm ent since 1985. In 1986, 4 o f the 30 assistant departm ent heads w ere w om en (11 percent). O f the 161 heads o f bureaus, 15 w ere w om en (9 percent), and of the 12 assistant heads o f bureaus, 5 w ere w om en (42 percent). T his sam e pattern o f declining w om en’s representation in the higher echelons o f the hierarchy characterizes the adm inistrative national boards as w ell. At the regional level, the Finnish public sector has three types o f ad m in ­ istrative structures. First, the country is divided into 12 provinces each having its ow n provincial governm ent for general adm inistration. Second, m any branches o f state governm ent have developed their own adm inistra­ tive structure for occupational safety and labor. Finally, the third type of structure consists o f interm unicipal joint authorities with their ow n d e ci­ sion-m aking bodies such as the councils, boards, and directorates. These are part o f m unicipal local self governm ent and do not belong to the state bureaucracy as do the first tw o structures m entioned above. T hese joint m unicipal authorities (also called federation o f com m unes) are in som e cases required by law and in som e cases based on voluntary collaboration am ong m unicipalities. T hey are m ostly responsible for running the highly specialized hospital and health services, and in som e cases, prim ary health care and vocational training. The m unicipalities provide prim ary health care. T he 12 provincial boards are responsible for the general d evelop­ m ent o f the province and have adm inistrative functions w ith regard to tax adm inistration, the police, m onetary transactions o f the state, educational and health services, social security, and the supervision o f the m unicipali­ ties. The provincial boards are headed by the G overnor o f the Province. T urku and Pori Province has twice had a w om an as G overnor since 1972. T he rem aining governors are all m en. O nly since 1972 has it been legally possible to appoint a w om an to this position.

74

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

T he provincial governm ents are also divided into departm ents and bu ­ reaus. H ere again, w here the m ajority o f w orkers are w om en, the b ureau­ cracy is run m ainly by m en. A m ong the 31 departm ent heads w ere 3 w om en (10 percent in 1984). One had been in the D epartm ent o f Health and Social W elfare in the K uopio Province since 1980, and tw o w ere in the provinces o f Central Finland (since 1978), and North Carelia (since 1981). A m ong the 65 bureau chiefs, five w ere w om en (8 percent) in 1984. At the local level, in addition to the m unicipalities (461 in 1987), m any branches o f the state adm inistration have their ow n local adm inistrative units such as the police, post and telecom m unication services, the state rail, em ploym ent offices, and social security offices. These local agencies are part o f the state bureaucracy and do not belong to the m unicipal public adm inistration. W om en are also absent from the higher adm inistrative positions in the local self-governm ent system . O nly 7 m unicipalities out o f 461 had a wom an as m unicipal director in 1985. T his num ber increased to 8 in 1987, all o f which w ere in rural areas. In 1 9 9 0 ,5 wom en w ere assistant directors in large cities. The m unicipal director is the highest official in the m unici­ pal public bureaucracy. In spite o f the fact that about 75 percent o f the m onthly salaried m unicipal w orkers are w om en, the m en head the m unici­ pal departm ents, offices, and boards (Sinkkonen 1985).

AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN ADMINISTRATORS The data on w hich this report is based were collected partly using struc­ tured interview s, and partly using m ail questionnaires containing openended and structured questions developed by the international project m ethodology. T w enty-five w om en adm inistrators from the highest posi­ tions in the Finnish central adm inistration responded both to the question­ naire and the interview . All respondents w ere in the position o f bureau head or above in the Finnish central (national) level adm inistration. Table 1 describes the sam ple o f wom en selected for this study by listing the num ­ ber o f all leading civil servants, the num ber o f all leading wom en civil servants, and the num ber o f wom en interviewed for this study according to m inistry or national adm inistrative board. The 25 wom en and 18 m ale adm inistrators in our study represent the follow ing m inistries and national adm inistrative boards according to their positions.

Sirkka Sinkkonen an d Eva H änninen-Salm elin

75

Heads of departm ent in m inistries.

M inistry of Health and Social A f­ fairs Ministry of Environment

Assistant heads o f department in m inistries.

Ministry of Health and Social A f­ fairs Ministry of Education Ministry o f Trade and Commerce

Heads of departm ent in national boards.

National Board o f Health National Board of Social W elfare National Board of Vocational E du­ cation

Assistant heads of department in national board

National Board of Social W elfare National Board of Vocational E du­ cation National Board o f Trade and C om ­ merce Interests

Head of bureau in ministries.

Ministry Ministry Ministry Ministry Ministry Ministry M inistry

Head of bureau in national board.

National Board of Social W elfare National Board o f Trade and Com mcrcc Interests National Board o f Patent and Regis tration National Board of Forestry National Board o f Customs National Board of Health National Board of W aters

of Education of Labor of the Environment for Foreign Affairs of Trade and Industry o f Finance of international Affairs

The gender segregation is also visible am ong the top level ad m in istra­ tors in the Finnish state bureaucracy. M ost o f these w om en represent the fields o f health, social affairs, and education (Rose 1976, 247-289; S inkkonen and H aavio-M annila 1981, 195-215; H em es and H anninenSalm elin 1985, 111). The M inistries o f D efense and Interior, w hich are the core areas o f the state bureaucracy, have no w om en in higher adm inis­ trative positions.

76

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

Table L Description of the Women Administrators in this Study Positions

Total

Women

1983

1983

Interviewed

Women

1987 Men

1985

Chancelleries o f ministries

13

0

0

0

Director-generals of national boards

20

1

0

0

Department heads in ministries

56

2

2

l

Assistant department heads in ministries

31

2

2

2

Department heads in central boards

43

2

2

1

Asst, department heads in central boards

34

4

4

0

Bureau heads in ministries

134

9

9

7

Bureau heads in central boards

235

47

6

7

Other managers

132

15

-

0

Total

698

82

25

18

( 12* )

BACKGROUND INFORM ATION OF THE INTERVIEWED W OM EN ADMINISTRATORS: A G E AND EDUCATION T he w om en adm inistrators in the sam ple represent different age groups. S everal (16 percent) w ere near retirem ent and reflected view s quite d iffer­ ent from their y o u n g er c o lleag u es, 28 percent o f w hom w ere betw een the ages o f 33 and 39. T able 2 show s the age o f the w om en at the tim e o f the last appointm ent and at the tim e o f the interview . T he m ajority (56 p e r­ cent) o f the interview ed w om en adm inistrators w ere appointed to their present offices w hen they w ere 40-49 years old and a third o f them w ere appointed during the ages o f 33-39. All o f the w om en adm inistrators in the study had an academ ic degree w hich is required to enter the public service as an analyst or senior o ffi­ c ial. Six (24 percent) o f the w om en and 4 ( 1 6 percent) o f the m en had tw o d egrees. T he fem ale adm inistrators have a slightly higher level o f ed u ca ­ tion than the m ale ad m inistrators. A study o f the highest officials in F in ­ land perform ed in 1983 determ ined that 22 percent o f this group (both m en and w om en) had a d o c to r’s or a licenciate level degree (V olanen 1983, 239). In this study o f w om en adm inistrators, 24 percent had these

Sirkka Sinkkonen and Eva Hanninen-Salmelin

77

Table 2. The Aec of Women Administrators al the time of their Last Appointment and al the Time of the .Interview

Age

U st Aww.ialme.BJ

At Interview

Men

Women

Men

Women

1

%

1

%

0

%

»

%

33-39 40-49 50-59 60 & over

10 12 3 -

40 48 12 -

11 13 1 -

44 52 4 -

7 7 8 4

28 24 32 16

1 12 10 2

4 4 40 8

Total

25

100

25

100

25

100

18

Youngest-Oldest

32-57

30-50

33-64

100 38-61

higher degrees in com parison w ith 16 percent o f the m en. Table 3 details the educational background o f the adm inistrators interview ed for this study. Finland is one o f the few countries w here a university degree is a form al requirem ent for appointm ent to the civil service (M odeen 1983, 11-12). W hen the office involves general adm inistrative functions, the degree is not specified but in other cases (expertise functions) a certain degree is required. R equirem ents for the leading offices are defined by law. A s m ight be expected according to other studies o f public adm inistra­ tors in Finland (H eiskanen and Sinkkonen 1974; V olanen 1983, 238; Stalhberg 1983, 95-96), m ost (40 percent) o f the w om en interview ed for this study had a law degree. The second m ost frequent field in the sam ple w as political science with P h .D ., Licenciate or M aster’s degrees. Three w om en in our data (12 percent) had a degree in engineering, w hich is quite rare am ong w om en in Finland. T hese w om en have already broken som e barriers in obtaining their educational degrees. T hree o f the respon­ dents had a low er degree in econom ics prior to pursuing a higher degree in law , political science, or engineering. In sum m ary, the data indicate that both the choice o f educational field and the level (academ ic or vocational) is an extrem ely im portant factor determ ining w o m en ’s possibilities for advancem ent in public adm inistration. Entry and prom otion in public ad­ m inistration is possible w ithout a university degree, but such exem ptions are rare and m ore often granted to m en rather than w om en (for instance, in the m inistry for foreign affairs). A lthough education is necessary, it is not a sufficient requirem ent for career advancem ent in the Finnish public se r­ vice.

78

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

Table 3: Educational Background of Interviewed Finnish Administrators Level of Education Women

Men

»

%

I

%

Ph.D. degree Licencíate degree (between MA & PhD) M aster’s or Bachelor’s degree

2 4 19

8 16 76

3 1 22

12 4 88

Total

25

too

25

100

10 8

40 32

10 5

40 20

3 2 1 1 -

12 8 4 4 -

4 2 2

25 8 8

-

-

2

8

25

100

25

100

Field of Education in Highest Degree* Law Political Science & Social Sciences Engineering Humanities Mathematics Forestry Medicine

(2 PhDs)

Total

* 3 women had lower degrees in economics and 3 men had two degrees, one of which was in economics

Career Histories and Job Satisfaction W hen asked for their reasons for e n tering a career in public ad m in istra­ tion (see T able 4 ), 32 percent (8 o f the 25 w om en) and 64 percent o f the m en (16 o f the 25) indicated their educational backgrounds w ere resp o n si­ ble for their interest in the public service. T w o w om en and three m en had P h .D . degrees; four w om en and one m an had L icencíate degrees (a degree betw een the P h .D . and the M a ste r’s degree) and all had a M aster’s degree. T w enty percent o f the w om en (5) and 28 percent o f the m en (7) m entioned the characteristics o f public adm inistration as a reason for entering. Four w om en said that their entry into public adm inistration as a career w as the result o f accidental situational factors. O ne w om an revealed an active c hoice on her part to reject her o riginally planned university career. W hen she saw how w om en w ere treated in the appointm ent o f p rofessors, she realized that as a w om an she w ould not have an opportunity for a career at the u n iversity. She left the university. A third o f the w om en had special reasons for entering public adm inis-

Sirkka Sinkkonen and Eva Hänninen-Salmelin

79

Table 4: Reasons for Entering Public Administration

women

Men

»

%

»

%

•Appropriate educational background, interest in social affairs, asked to enter because of education

8

32

16

64

•Characteristics of public administrationinteresting functions, active recruitment process, safety, and many career opportunities

5

20

7

28

•By chance, the result of accidental situational factors, because of life situation, open position available

3

12

2

8

•Special reasons for women: -Opportunities for equal payment(5) -Better career mobility (4) -facilitates career and work better (4)

8

32

Total

25

100

25

100

tration. T hey considered public adm inistration jo b s to be secure and risk­ less for w om en. The regular and often shorter w orking hours in the public sector facilitated com bining career and fam ily. Pensions w ere also a fac­ tor. The public sector w as offering pensions o f about 60 percent o f m onthly salaries at the tim e w hen the oldest o f the interview ed wom en entered the public service. T he private sector offered no such pension at that tim e, although it currently does. T he m ajority o f the w om en m entioned that another person had served as an exam ple or had an influence on the form ation o f their view o f public adm inistration. The w om en had m ore reasons for entering public adm inis­ tration than did their m ale colleagues, w hose responses centered m ainly on education and w ork experience. The issue o f salary w as m entioned as a positive factor for entry am ong the w om en but as a deterrent am ong the m en. In evaluating their jo b s, the w om en reported enjoying independent, d e ­ m anding w ork w here creativity is possible. T hey disliked bureaucratic structures and bureaucratic processes. A bout half o f both the m ale and the fem ale respondents reported that they w ere planning to seek a higher posi­ tion. T he argum ents for not seeking advancem ent given by m en and w om en differ. M ore w om en m entioned self developm ent, w hile m en em ­ phasized salary and prom otion. W hile the w om en w ho w ere interview ed did not m ention the im pact of

80

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

role m odeling on their career choices, m ost o f the w om en adm inistrators had very w ell-educated parents. W hen age is taken into consideration, both the m others and the fathers o f the respondents had educational attain­ m ents m uch above the average level o f the population in general. A lso, m any o f the m others o f these wom en had rather independent occupations other than that o f housew ife and m other. In sum m ary, about one-third o f the wom en considered their jobs in public adm inistration to be secure and riskless for w om en. Furtherm ore, the regular and often shorter w orking hours in the public sector make com bining paid w ith fam ily w ork an easier task. Pensions w ere also a factor. The public sector w as offering pensions o f about 60 percent of m onthly salaries at the tim e these w om en entered the public service. The private sector offered no pensions. W hen asked to evaluate their current jo b , 68 percent o f the wom en said that they were satisfied or very satisfied and 24 percent (6) w ere only som ew hat satisfied. Nine w om en reported that they w ere planning to seek a higher position and 15 (60 percent) said that they w ould not seek a d ­ vancem ent. Those seeking to advance desired m ore dem anding tasks or w anted an opportunity to develop them selves. O ne person stated: “ I have done these tasks long enough, I am ready for the next appointm ent.” W hen asked to evaluate their own opportunities for advancem ent, only one wom an felt her chances to be good. All the other wom en either did not know or rated their chances as poor. T his pessim ism m ay not reflect any perceived bias against w om en. The respondents w ere not optim istic about anyone’s opportunities for career advancem ent in public adm inistration in general. O ver half stated that opportunities are poor for everyone. The reasons the 15 respondents gave for not desiring a higher position in­ volved prim arily age and current job satisfaction. Four o f the fifteen said that they did not desire a higher position because they never w ould be selected.

Factors Helping or Hindering Women’s Advancement in Public Administration W hen asked to identify factors which had been m ost important in hin­ dering w om en’s advancem ent in public adm inistration, the men more o f­ ten than the wom en m entioned the personal characteristics o f w om en and w om en’s lack o f qualities required in m anagem ent positions. W hen asked about factors that have helped w om en advance, m en m ost often m en­ tioned w om en’s personal characteristics once again. The w om en when asked to respond to the sam e questions also m entioned their ow n personal

Sirkka Sinkkonen and Eva Hanninen-Salmelin

81

characteristics, their skill, and their com petence; how ever, the w om en w ere m uch m ore likely also to m ention structural factors such as the nom i­ nating process, recruitm ent practices, and the m asculine tradition as barri­ ers to their ow n advancem ent. As factors helping w om en, w om en cited changes in the social environm ent and in w om en’s life situations, changes in the characteristics o f public adm inistration, and especially changes in w o m en ’s ow n preparation, education, and m otivation as im portant. T he w om en w ho currently hold relatively high positions in the Finnish state adm inistration view their ow n success and the success o f the other w om en as due prim arily to individual personal characteristics. Like the m ale adm inistrators, they consider individual perform ance the m ain rea­ son for success and also the prim ary reason for failure. W ithin the w orkplace, m ost o f the w om en in the sam ple (83 percent) did not belong to any w o m en ’s organizations or netw orks and m ost (78 percent) did not belong to any w om en’s professional organizations either. The respondents were som ew hat m ore active in w o m en ’s organizations in the com m unity as only 65% stated that they did not belong to any w o m ­ e n ’s organizations in their com m unities.

Present M arital and Family Roles T he data in this study support the findings o f other studies o f m en and w om en in top adm inistrative positions in Finland that few er w om en than m en are m arried (H aavio-M annila 1981; Sinkkonen and H anninen 1978; V anhala 1986; K arento 1987). Just over half o f the fem ale adm inistrators in this study w ere m arried; how ever 94 percent o f the m ale adm inistrators w ere m arried (see T able 5). Eleven w om en adm inistrators in this study had no children. Fourteen had 2, 3, and 4 children; for a total o f 34 children. O nly two o f the children w ere under 10 years old and only four w ere under 20 years old. Seven o f the children, how ever, live at hom e and help with the household Table 5: Marital Status of Female and Male Administrators Marital Status

Women

Men

I

4

I

2.

Unmarried Married or cohabiting Living separately or divorced Widowed

6 13 5 3

24 52 20 12

0 17 1 0

0 94 5 0

Total

25

100

18

100

82

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

w ork. The wom en administrators in top positions in Finland had spouses with leadership positions in the public or private sectors. Eighty percent of the married wom en had husbands with a M aster’s degree or higher.

CONCLUSIONS The overall picture o f women in public administration in Finland is one in which women dominate the lower level offices as well as offices in certain fields within the state and municipal administration, with only a few token leadership positions at the department head level and above in national boards and m inistries. Only at the bureau head level on the na­ tional boards do women occupy as many as 20 percent of the positions. At the level o f planning, preparing, and implementing the laws, statutes, and regulations, w om en’s participation varies from 15 percent to 60 percent according to the field of administration. Women are poorly represented in the higher administrative positions despite the fact that women are well represented in the pool from which persons are recruited for higher posi­ tions. The relationship between the political decision-m aking system and the administrative system is constantly changing; the relationship has become more reciprocal based on the new type of fram e-laws. These new laws often define the future guidelines for certain state functions and allocate the financial resources for many subsequent years. These new frame-laws enhance the power o f high civil servants as im plementors. Ministers and the political parties recognize this and the recruitment of senior civil ser­ vice officials has come to involve party politics. The wom en administrators in our data are w ell-educated, hard-work­ ing, and aware o f the societal, political and structural barriers to their advancem ent, the factors which facilitate their careers, and their own characteristics. They have a realistic view of what they can do in their own work to help other women and are especially aware o f the ways that public policies impact on wom en. The women administrators report working to generate more opportunities for women in lower offices. They also work to develop open and informal working environm ents. Top women admin­ istrators in Finland are satisfied with their jobs. They are as ambitious as their male colleagues. W hereas top male administrators respond to ques­ tions about motivation and advancement in a rather traditional one dim en­ sional way involving salaries and prom otions, female administrators have more complex reasons and m otives for doing what they do. In their quest, they are articulating new challenges not only for themselves but also for the developm ent of public administration as a whole.

Sirkka Sinkkonen and Eva Hänninen-Salmelin

83

REFEREN CES Central Statistical Office (CSO). 1984. Naisten asema. (Position of W omen) H el­ sinki: Central Statistical Office. Central Statistical Office. 1985. Naiset ja miehet työelämässä (W omen and men in w orklife). Helsinki: Central Statistical O ffice, N. 116. E riksson, A lina. 1937. “ Naiset Posti-ja lennätinlaitoksen p alveluksessa” (W omen in Post and Telecom munication) in Koskim ies, Einari (ed). Helsinki: Posti-ja lennätinlaitos. 229-235. Haavio-M annila, Elina. 1980. “ Changes in the Life Patterns of Fam ilies in the Nordic C ountries.” Yearbook o f Population Research in F inland XVII. Hel­ sinki: The Population Research Institute. Haavio-M annila, Elina et.al. (eds). 1981. U nfinished Democracy: Women in N or­ dic Politics. Elm sford, N .Y .: Pergamon Press. H aavio-M annila, Elina. 1981. “ The Position of W om en.” In Nordic D emocracy, eds. Erik Allardt et. al. Copenhagen: The Danish Society. H änninen-Salm elin, Eva. 1987. Postim estarin leskestä paajohtajaksi-vaiheita virkanaisten urakehityksestä (From Postm aster’s widow to C hief Director Phases in Female Civil Servants’ Careers). In Tulen kesyttäjät. (Tamers of Fire). The Finnish Federation o f University W omen. Porvoo: W erner Söder­ ström Osakeyhtiö 157-173. H eiskanen, llkka, and Sirkka Sinkkonen. 1974. From Legalism to Informaiion Technology and Politization: The Development of Public Adm inistration. Hel­ sinki: Research Report, Institute of Political Science, University of Helsinki, N. 31. H ernes, Helga, and Eva Hänninen-Salmelin. 1985. “ W omen in the Corporate S ystem .” In Unfinished Democracy: Women in Nordic Politics, eds. Elina Haavio-M annila et. al. Elmsford, N .Y .: Pergamon Press. H uhtanen, Raija. 1983. “ Naisen virkakelpoisuuden historiallista tarkastelua” (W omen and the Requirements for Office from the Historical Perspective). Tampere Oikeus: Suomen Demokradtt iset lakimichet ja Oikeus-ja yhteiskuntatieteellinen yhdistys 2, 93-104. Jallinoja, Riita. 1983. Miehet ja naiset (Men and W omen). In Sualmalaiset (Finns), eds. T. Valkonen et al. Porvoo: W erner Söderström O sakeyhtiö, 222250.

Karento, Helena. 1987. “ Naiset Hallintoviroissa” (W omen in higher civil ser­ vice). Unpublished manuscript. Koskinen, Pirkko K. 1982. “ Oikeustieteen normit ja naisen todellisuus” (Legal Norms and W om an’s Reality). In Toisenlainen tasa-arvo (Different Reality), eds. Sirkka Sinkkonen and Eila Ollikainen. Pieksämäli: Kustannuskiila Oy. 89-96. M odeen, Tor ed. 1983. “ Recruiting for High Offices in the Central Adm inistra­ tio n .” Tampere: Department o f Adm inistrative Sciences. International Insti­ tute of Adm inistrative Sciences, University of Tam pere. N. 2/A. Rose, Richard. 1976. “ On the Priorities of Government: A Development Analy-

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sis of Public Policies.” European Journal o f Political Research. N. 4. 247289. Sinkkonen, Sirkka. 1977. “ W omen’s Increased Political Participation in Finland: Real Influence or Pseudodemocracy?” Berlin: European Consortium for Polit­ ical Research. Sinkkonen, Sirkka. 1982. “ Naisjohtaja johtaa toisin” (Women leaders lead dif­ ferently). In Toisenlainen tasa-arvo (Different Equality), eds. Sirkka Sinkkonen and Eila Ollikainen. Kuopio: Kustannuskiila. Sinkkonen, Sirkka. 1985. “ Women in Local Politics.” In Unfinished Democ­ racy: Women in Nordic Politics, eds. Elina Haavio-Mannila et. al. Elmsford, N.Y.: Pergamon Press. Sinkkonen, Sirkka, and Elina Haavio-Mannila. 1981. “ The Impact of the Wom­ en’s Movement and the Legislative Activity of W omen’s MPs on Social De­ velopm ent.” In Women, Power, and Political Systems, ed. Margherita Rendel. London: Croom Helm. 195-215. Sinkkonen, Sirkka, and Eva Hänninen. 1978. “ Organizational Type, W omen’s Careers and Administrative and Political Involvement.” Grenoble: European Consortium for Political Research. Skard, Torild, and Elina Haavio-Mannila. 1985. “ Women in Parliament.” In Unfinished Democracy: Women in Nordic Politics, eds. Elina Haavio-Mannila et. al. Elmsford, N.Y.: Pergamon Press. Stahlberg, Krister. 1983. “ De statliga anstUallda i Finland” (Civil Service in Finland). In Byrakrateri Norden. (Bureaucrats in Nordic Countries), eds. Len­ nart Lundqvist and Krister Stalberg. Âbo: Meddelanden frSn Stiflelsen for Âbo Akademi Forskiningsinstitut. N. 83. Vanhala, Sinikka. 1986. Ekonomikunnan segmentoituneet työmarkkinat (The Segregated Labor Market for Business Graduates). Helsinki: Helsingin kauppakorkeakoulun julkaisuja. D-81. Vartola, Juha. 1983. Valtionhallinnon kehittämisperiaatteista. Tampere: Ministeriö-tutkimuksen osaraportti II. (Development Principles of State Administra­ tion. Report on the Ministries II). Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto, Julkishallinnon julkaisusarja 1. Volanen, Risto. 1983. “ Report on recruitment for the highest offices in Finland.” In Recruiting fo r High Offices in the Central Administration, ed. Tor Modeen. Tampere: International Institute of Administrative Sciences, University of Tampere. Department of Administrative Sciences.

W om en in Public Administration in the United States Jane H . Bayes

BACKGROUND: TRENDS IN THE LABOR FORCE FOR WOMEN The tw entieth century has seen a phenom enal grow th in the num ber of w om en in the paid labor force in the U nited States. The num ber doubled from 4 m illion or one sixth o f the total labor force in 1890 to 8 m illion in 1910 (L yle and Ross 1973, 2). A round 1900, the labor force participation rale for fem ales w as 19 percent. T his increased to ju st over 25 percent by 1940, and to over 52 percent by 1985. T he labor force participation rates for m en declined slightly from 8 6.4 percent in 1950 to 55 percent in 1988 (D epartm ent o f Labor 1988, 90). The age and m arital status o f the w om an w orker has also changed. D uring the first decade o f the century, 70 percent o f fem ale w orkers were single and 50 percent w ere under 25. M ost left the w ork force w hen they w ere m arried. T he m edian age for w om en w orkers w as 26 years o f age. T his pattern prevailed until the post W orld W ar II period w hen older w om en began to enter the labor force in sizeable num bers to bring the m edian age o f fem ale w orkers to over 40 in the 1960s. D uring the 1970s and 1980s, w hile older w om en continued to w ork, large num bers of young w om en in their 20s entered the w ork force to bring the m edian age o f fem ale w orkers back dow n to 34 by 1980. W hereas in 1950 only 22 percent o f all m arried w om en w orked, by 1970 this percentage had jum ped to 41 percent and by 1981 it w as 51 percent (D epartm ent o f Labor 1983, 11). E ducation has also changed for w om en w orkers. In 1940, 44 percent of w om en had at least 4 years o f high school. By 1970, over 70 percent had at least 4 years o f high school, and by 1981, 83 percent had finished high school (D epartm ent o f L abor 1983, 107). Concom itant and integral to these changes in the labor force have been © 1991 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

85

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

changes in the U .S. econom y. Throughout the 20th century, but particu­ larly since W orld W ar II, the U .S . econom y has been shifting from a m anufacturing to a service econom y. Insofar as white collar service jobs can easily be perform ed by women and women can be hired at lower wages than m en, the demand for female labor has increased to bring older wom en into the labor force. W omen in 1981 constitute 66 percent of the white collar labor force (Departm ent of Labor 1983, 51).

Occupational Segregation A major characteristic of the U .S. female labor force is the nature and stability o f its sex segregation. Occupations that were 70 percent female in 1900 were largely the same occupations that were 70 percent female in 1950 and in 1980. The percentage of the female labor force in these occu­ pations has changed with the econom y. In 1900, the largest percentage of the female labor force worked as private household workers (28.7 per­ cent). The next largest percentage was in dressm aking apparel m anufac­ turing (12.9 percent) and 6 percent were in teaching (Oppenheim er 1970, 78-79). By 1940, women working in non-agricultural occupations were 30 percent in service occupations, 21 percent in blue collar operative jobs, and 14 percent in professional technical jobs. The service jobs were pri­ marily w aitress, hairdresser, cook, and practical nurse. Female operatives were concentrated in the apparel industry as sewing machine operators. The clerical-sales group included stenographers, typists, secretaries, bookkeepers, and retail saleswom en. Am ong professionals, half were teachers and another 25 percent were nurses (W aldman and M cEaddy 1975). In spite of laws enacted during the 1960s and 1970s designed to end sex discrim ination and job sex segregation, occupational sex segregation con­ tinues to persist. In the 1980s, over half (55 percent) of all employed women are either in clerical (35 percent) or in service jobs (19 percent). Two of every 5 female workers were employed in only 10 occupations in 1981: secretary, bookkeeper, retail sales clerk, cashier, w aitress, regis­ tered nurse, elem entary school teacher, private household worker, typist, and nursing aide (Department of Labor 1983, 53). During the decade of the 1970s, women began to move in small num bers into jobs that had previously been at least 70 percent male in the past. W omen made em ­ ployment gains in practically all the skilled trades, in many professions such as law, m edicine, accounting, pharmacy, com puter science, and in some traditionally male sales occupations such as insurance, brokering, and underwriting. The fastest growing occupation for women during the decade of 1970-1980 was that of managers and administrators. W omen

Jane H. Bayes

87

held 18.5 percent o f these jobs in 1970, 30.5 percent o f them by 1980, and 39.3 percent o f them in 1988.

Industrial Sex Segregation W hile the occupational sex segregation o f wom en decreased som ewhat during the decade o f the 1970s, the em ploym ent of wom en by industry continues to be profoundly segregated with change going in the direction o f increased rather than decreased segregation by industry. W omen dom i­ nate the finance, insurance, real estate, and service industries by two to one over m en. In contrast, a much higher percentage of men are employed in m ining, construction, m anufacturing, transportation, and public utili­ ties.

FEDERAL LAWS GOVERNING WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT The period from 1963 to 1977 was one of considerable legislative activ­ ity with regard to w om en. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act estab­ lished a m inim um wage which was amended with the Equal Pay Act in 1963, and an extension o f m inim um wage protection to household w ork­ ers in 1974. The Equal Pay Act prohibited discrim ination because o f sex. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act o f 1964 prohibits discrim ination based on sex, race, color, religion, and national origin in all term s, conditions, or privileges o f em ploym ent. In 1972, this law was am ended to cover all public and private em ployers and labor unions o f 15 or more persons. The 1972 am endm ent also gave the bipartisan Equal Em ploym ent Opportunity Com m ission (EEO C), whose five m em bers are appointed by the Presi­ dent, the authority to bring litigation and to extend coverage of the law.

The Federal Administrative System The federal adm inistrative system in the United States consists o f 13 m ajor departm ents having Cabinet level status, plus a large num ber of com m issions and regulatory agencies. During W orld W ar II, federal civil­ ian em ploym ent was at its m axim um with 3.4 m illion persons. Since then, it has been approxim ately 2.8 m illion. Around 39 percent o f these federal jobs were held by wom en in 1980 (Departm ent o f Labor 1983, 74). On the state level, wom en in 1981 constituted 42 percent o f all em ployees, and in local governm ent, 38 percent o f local governm ent em ployees were wom en (D epartm ent of Labor 1983, 71). Since the m id-1950s, the per­ centages of wom en in the federal civilian labor force have steadily in­

88

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

creased from 24 percent in 1958 to almost 39 percent in 1980 (Department o f Labor 1983, 74). As Table 1 show s, the concentration of women is heavily in the GS 1-8 grades (76 percent), whereas only 49 percent o f all em ploym ent is in this category. In the upper grades, women constitute only 4 percent of all those in grades GS 16-18 and only 8 percent of those in the middle grades GS 13-15. A basic hypothesis of this project was that different agencies would have different em ploym ent rates for women depending on the primary business of the agency and its relationship to traditional sex roles in the workplace. Finance has traditionally been a male occupation, whereas health and education have traditionally been female occupations. Table 2 shows the percentage of women by grade level groups for the 13 cabinet level departments in the federal governm ent. Those having the most women in the upper grade levels are the Departments of Education (16 percent), Health and Human Services (14 percent), Housing and Urban Development (13 percent), Labor (11 percent), and State (10 percent). In the remaining departm ents, wom en constitute no more than 6% o f those in the higher ranks, GS 16-18 or equivalent. Another aspect o f the federal administrative system which is important for this study is the difference between career and political appointive positions. The top ranks of the federal bureaucracy are composed of career civil servants and political appointees. The very top jobs and many near the top of the bureaucracy are political appointive offices. The rationale for this is that each President should have immediate subordinates of his own political persuasion to ensure that his policies will be administered in accordance with his overall program . Political appointees generally have different career paths from those o f civil servants, although some individ­ uals move from job to job between the two designations. A civil servant must pass competitive exam inations and usually, although not alw ays, comes at a fairly young age to work in the government as a career. Politi­ cal appointees are often brought in by an Adm inistration because of their activities and contributions to the political party o f the Adm inistration, and/or because of some expertise which they have demonstrated outside of the governm ent, and/or because of some constituency they represent with which the Adm inistration wants to curry favor. Once in governm ent, they may slay as political appointees through several adm inistrations, espe­ cially if the same political party wins the Presidency. Political appointees are more likely, however, to have their positions only during the time or part o f the time one Adm inistration is in office. As part of his attempt to control the bureaucracy, President Reagan extended his political appoint-

TABLE 1. Number and Percent of Women in Full-Time Federal White Collar Employment, by General Schedules and Equivalent Grades, October 31, 1980 General Schedule Grade

Total Employment (M en Sc W omen)

Percent W omen o f Total Employment

Number of Women

Percent Distribution o f All Women Employees By Grade

Women As Percent o f Total Employment By Grade

Total all Pay Systems

1,985,057

100

767,117

100.

38.6

GS and Equivalent

1,472,887

100

663,962

100.

45.1

GS 1 - 8 ($ 7 ,9 6 0 - $21,875)

727,416

49

504,430

26.1

69.0

GS 9 - 12 ($18,585 - $35,033)

526,000

36

141,601

21.4

27.0

GS 13 - 15 ($32,048 - $57,912)

216,884

15

17,818

2.7

8.0

2,587

0.2

113

< 0 .0 5

4.0

GS 16 - 18 ($52,247 - $71,734) and SES*

• Senior Executive Service (SES). Civil Service Reform Act o f 1978 created the SES for Grades 16 and above. Source: U .S. Department o f Labor, W omen’s Bureau, Tim e o f Change: 74.

oo VO

1983 Handbook on W omen W orkers. Bulletin 298,

s TABLE 2. Pcrccntagc of Women Employed by Grade Level Grouping and by Department, 1983 DEPARTMENT

GS GS GS GS

1- 8 9 - 12 13- 15 16 - 18 Sl SES

Total

AGRICULTURE

DEFENSE*

COMMERCE

Number of Female Employees

Total Employees

% Female

Number of Female Employees

Total Employees

% Female

Number of Female Employees

Total Employees

% Female

22,047 5,565 704 15

38.684 39,903 10,314 340

57 (4 7 4

7,715 2,526 812 28

10,374 9,804 7,601 425

74 26 6

221,870 53,967 7,343 32

370,625 223,496 55,291 1,007

60 24 13 3

28,331

89,241

32

11,081

28,204

39

283,212

449,269

63

11

• These figures are for Departments o f Air Force, ARmy, Defense Logistics and Navy only. DEPARTMENT

GS GS GS GS

1- 8 9 - 12 13- 15 16- 18 & SES

Total

EDUCATION

HEALTH

ENERGY

Sl

HUMAN SERVICES

Number of Female Employees

Total Employees

% Female

Number of Female Employees

Total Employees

% Female

Number of Female Employees

Total Employees

% Female

1,234 943 424 8

1,457 1,698 1,482 50

92 56 29 16

3,708 1,380 625 31

4,695 4,368 5,600 499

79 32 11 6

50,238 25,104 3,598 78

59,400 44,924 16,217 543

85 56 22 14

2,609

4,687

56

5,745

15,162

38

79,018

121,084

65

Source: U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Employment Opportunities, Committee on Education and Labor, "The State of Affirmative Action in the Federal Government: Staff Report Analyzing 1980 and 1983 Employment Profiles," Committee Print 98th Congress 2d Session, August, 1984

DEPARTMENT

HOUSING M l URBAN DEVELOPMENT Number of Female Employees

Total Employees

% Female

Number of Female Employees

GS 1 - 8 GS 9 - 12 GS 13- 15 GS 16- 18 ASES

3,327 1,998 537 17

3,759 5,348 2,880 126

89 37 19 13

15,222 4,222 362 15

Total

5,879

12,113

49

19,821

DEPARTMENT

LABOR Number of Female Employees

GS GS GS GS

1- 8 9 - 12 13- 15 16- 18ASES

Tool

Total Employees

% Female

Number of Female Employees

4,786 2,265 798 24

5,626 7,844 4,580 217

85 29 17 II

1,635 618 183 10

7.873

18,267

43

2,446

DEPARTMENT

TREASURY Number of Female Employees

Total Employees

% Female

GS 1 - 8 GS 9 - 12 GS 13- 15 GS 16- 18 Sc SES

39,120 12,732 1,909 29

49,803 38,250 17,520 518

79 33 11 5

Total

53,790

106,091

51

JUSTICE

INTERIOR

Female

Number of Female Employees

Total Employees

Female

23,163 21,768 3,372 314

66 19 11 5

8,661 2,449 479 18

14,637 11,703 2,692 299

59 21 18 6

48,617

41

11,607

29,331

40

Total Employees

%

%

TRANSPORTATION

STATE % Female

Number o f Female Employees

Total Employees

% Female

2,045 1,014 630 98

80 61 29 10

6,778 3,688 821 17

10,119 25,750 18,480 356

67 14 5 5

3,787

65

11,304

54,705

20

Total Employees

92

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

ments into many high ranking jobs that civil servants had occupied in previous administrations.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY This study focuses on two departments in the federal governm ent. One is concerned primarily with matters that are traditionally associated with w om en’s occupations, the Health and Human Services Department. The other, the Treasury, deals with finance, m oney, and accounting, tradition­ ally male occupational preserves. The design involved sampling the top 20 percent of the salary structure in each department and using both an interview and a written questionnaire to explore the career experiences of at least twelve wom en and twelve men in each department in some depth. The data for this report come from questionnaires and hour long inter­ views with: (1) 18 female respondents drawn by random selection from the 78 Health and Human Service employees making $59,223-$83,300 in 1985 and w ho also lived in W ashington D .C. (O f the 94 females in this salary range within the Departm ent, only 78 resided in W ashington D .C .); and (2) 13 female respondents drawn by random selection from the 56 female Treasury Department employees in the $59,223-$83,000 salary range living in W ashington D .C . in 1985. These 31 interviews with fe­ male respondents were conducted during January and February, 1985. Data for male respondents (11 from Health and Human Services and 17 from Treasury) using the same selection process and interview schedule, but a revised questionnaire form , were collected two years later in Janu­ ary, 1987. T his paper focuses primarily on the female respondents and uses the male responses primarily as a reference to determine whether wom en respondents are different from men.

A Basic Description of the Sample Table 3 presents a basic description of the sample by sex and by depart­ m ent. Most men and women in the positions sampled tended to be in their 40s, with very, few in their 50s and 60s. Those in high ranking positions who were in their 30s tended to be mostly women (13 out of 15) perhaps reflecting the impact o f affirmative action program s. Respondents in all departments reported that affirmative action program s had had and con­ tinue to have an impact. Men and women exhibited very few differences in formal education. The individuals sampled were highly educated as a group. Over 60 percent of both sexes had post-graduate degrees. Differ­ ences between the sexes were most apparent in m arriage and family statis­

Jane H. Bayes

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tics. W hereas 93 percent of the m ale sample were m arried, only 65 per­ cent o f the wom en in the sample were m arried. Forty-five percent o f the wom en sam pled had no children, w hereas only 7 percent o f the men had no children. Com bining career and family continues to be more difficult for wom en than it is for m en, although a m ajority o f these high ranking wom en were m arried and almost half (48 percent) had children living at home at the time of the interview.

SOCIALIZATION DATA Table 4 sum m arizes the socialization data obtained from the sam ple. Both men and wom en were largely the first born in their fam ilies with this being more the case for men (64 percent) than for women (46 percent). O ver half o f both the men and the wom en in the sample tended to come from fam ilies where the m other w orked. The data on the highest level of education attained by either parent and the self identification of social class while grow ing up suggest a class difference between males and fe­ m ales, with wom en com ing from families with higher education levels and higher self images in terms o f class status. H ow ever, this difference is not statistically significant. W hat can be said is that the social class of the respondents’ parents and the parents’ educations showed a broad spec­ trum . W hile most respondents described their parents as m iddle or lower m iddle class, both male and female respondents had parents at both ends o f the social class spectrum . One respondent had immigrant parents who had gram m ar school educations and w orked as a w aiter and a dom estic. A nother respondent came from a family whose parents w orked as a truck driver and a garment factory w orker. She came to W ashington at the age o f 17 with a borrowed $100 in her pocket that she repaid as soon as she had earned it. In contrast, 14 o f the 59 respondents (23 percent) had at least one parent with a graduate degree and 12 of the 59 (20 percent) identified their fam ilies as being upper m iddle or upper class. Forty-four percent of the total sam ple identified their fam ilies as either lower middle or lower class.

CAREER HISTORIES AND ASPIRATIONS As indicated above, recruitm ent into the higher levels of the U .S. fed­ eral bureaucracy occurs in two distinct w ays. One can be a career civil service employee or one can be a political appointee. The career histories are quite different for each although, in this sam ple, two women had

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TABLE 3. Basic Description of Data From Respondents by Department.

Health and Human Services

Treasury

Total

16 13

12 11

28 24

Aee of Respondents 30-39 40-49 50-59 60 + Total

6 8 1 1

6 5 1 0

12 13 2 1 28

Tvpe of Appointment Political Career Total

8 8

4 8

12 16 28

Highest Decree Education Some College College Degree Masters Degree Law Degree PhD Total

0 3 4 7 2

1 5 4 2 0

1 8 8 9 2 28

Marital Status Married Single Divorced, Widowed, Separated Total

9 4 3

8 3 1

17 7 4 28

Children At Home Yes, but not at home Total with children No children

7 2 9 7

6 1 7 5

13 3 16 12

Ethnic Identity Yes, Jewish Yes, Black Yes, Swedish No Not Available

2 2 1 8 3

0 1 0 9 2

2 3 1 17 5

Nature of Date Number of Interviews Number o f Questionnaires

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Religion Protestant Catholic Jewish None Not Available

5 2 2 4 3

5 4 0 1 2

10 6 2 5 5

Political Partv Republicans Democrats Independent

9 5 2

3 5 4

12 10 6

Grade Level or Rank GS 15 SES

1 15

4 8

5 23

sw itched during their careers. Some wom en with political appointm ents began their careers either by working in political cam paigns and/or by w orking for a congressm an or senator. These individuals, once they have obtained a bureaucratic appointm ent, may m aintain and use their C ongres­ sional political netw orks. Other wom en with political appointm ents have been recruited to perform in an area in which they have special expertise. They may or m ay not have been active in local politics. Still others are brought into an Adm inistration with a political appointm ent as a political reward or because of the local or special constituency that the individual brings with her. Career civil servants tend to fall into one o f two catego­ ries: those w ho have worked their way up in the sam e agency doing a variety o f different tasks and those w ho have moved around from depart­ ment to departm ent and w ho make a practice o f m oving laterally and then being prom oted once they arc in a new job. Men and wom en tend to differ in their career history patterns. Men in top positions in our sam ple were more likely to have advanced within their agencies by a margin of 61 percent to 25 percent. The wom en were divided almost equally between those in civil service careers and those w ho had obtained their high posi­ tion by political appointm ent. Both men and w om en in about equal pro­ portions (32 percent and 29 percent) advanced by m oving from one de­ partm ent to another in their careers.

Career Aspirations The career aspirations for the sam ple were som ewhat varied with no particular differences between men and wom en. Several noted that the “ top is filled.” Twelve respondents indicated that they would like to

TABLE 4. Sum m ary o f Socialization

Childhood Role Model

Adult Mentors

Mother Father Parents Mother or Friend Peer Mother and Aunt None Not Available Good at School School Principal

Female Lawyer No one Person Male Professor Male Boss Husband and Others Male Superiors Female Colleagues None Not Available

6 2 4 1 1 1 4 6 2 1

1 2 2 6 2 I 3 2 I

Birth Order

Working Status of Parents Both Worked Father Worked Not Available

Highest Level of Education Attained by Either Parent

16 8 4

1st or Only 2nd 3rd 4th Not Available

Graduate Degree BA or BS Some College High School Elementary School Not Available

8 4 5 5 2 4

Social Class 13 5 1 1 8

Upper Upper Middle Middle Lower Middle Working Not Available

1 6 7 6 4 4

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“ m ove up” in the organization or obtain a Presidential appointm ent. One wom an noted that she found it most rewarding to move laterally to keep herself challenged by her w ork. Ten respondents expressed a desire to move into private industry in the future. Eleven others (eight m en, three w om en) indicated that they were happy where they w ere. One expressed a desire to m ove into some W orld Health organization or to go into higher education adm inistration. About five individuals had w orked in the pri­ vate sector prior to com ing to government or they had taken time out of their governm ent careers to work in industry for a year.

THE JOB SITUATION A num ber o f general trends emerged from the data which explored the job situation o f each respondent in some depth. First, consider work hours. All the female respondents spend at least 9 hours a day at w ork. All but one o f the four wom en who reported staying at work no more than 45 hours a w eek were wom en with young or teenage children. In contrast, almost half of the males in the sam ple reported spending between 41 and 50 hours a w eek at w ork. Several o f the m others discussed the tradeoffs they had to make in this area. One woman w ished that her family life would allow her to be at work e a rly —before others. A nother noted that family life prevented her from m ixing socially and professionally as much as she would like. Most o f the women reported working through the lunch hour every day or several tim es during the w eek. About a third of both the wom en and the men reported that they regularly work 10 to 12 hours a day. Others noted that when Congress is in session, their hours increase. Several o f the men reported spending more than sixty hours a week at the job. Three wom en expressed the view that they had a personal policy about being a w orkaholic, that it was bad managem ent to work too m uch, and expressed the opinion that the agency tended to reward w orkaholics and that there was a kind o f m acho ethic concerning w ho w orked harder than w ho. Tw o o f these same wom en reported that they regularly work a 10 hour day. One wom an said that she used to be a w orkaholic in that she did nothing but work to the point that she som etim es spent the night at the office. H ow ever, in the last year and a half, she has made a conscious decision to stop w orking so m uch. She reported that it really has not made a difference in the perform ance of her job. Several wom en noted that they w orked harder than their colleagues or even than their superiors. Others com m ented that the top managem ent put in very long hours.

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The Job Responsibilities for Women The range o f duties and responsibilities which respondents have is im ­ pressive and diverse. Four female respondents were managers or supervi­ sors of program s involving from 260 to 5000 em ployees. Others super­ vised staffs o f between 4 and 35 involved in specific research, legal counsel, or other specialized areas of expertise. Two were responsible for a central office in W ashington and for regional offices in the field. The sample contained six Assistant Secretaries or Deputy Assistant Secre­ taries. These wom en either reported directly to the Secretary o f the De­ partm ent or had only one person between them selves and the Secretary. (A Secretary o f a Departm ent has Cabinet rank.) Five m embers of the sample were lawyers working as Associate, Assistant, and Deputy A ssis­ tant General Counsel. Two respondents were close Executive or Press Secretaries either to a Secretary or an Assistant Secretary. Nine Directors of agencies that generally reported to an Assistant Secretary or a Deputy Assistant Secretary were a part of the sample. These agencies all had specialized functions requiring special expertise. Two Com missioners or Assistant Com m issioners, a Program M anager and two Deputy Directors constituted the remainder of the female sam ple. As noted above, women are by no m eans as num erous in the top levels of the federal bureaucracy, but at least some of them hold important positions.

What the Female Respondents Like About Their Work The most predominant single response to this question concerned the satisfaction these women experienced in being able to influence public policy at a high level. Eleven of the respondents mentioned this. Others m entioned that they enjoyed the freedom and autonomy “ to target work efforts and resources” or to control their own work schedule and choose the issues on which they would work. Many mentioned that they enjoyed the challenge and variety of their jobs. The prestige of the job, the contact with “ high level officials and hot issues” and the fact that “ people pay attention to what I say” were all mentioned. Finally, many women ex­ plained that they enjoyed the content or subject m atter of the job: being involved with specific areas of public policy, legislative drafting, legal w ork, supervising functions, getting money back for the governm ent, “ the operational environm ent requiring fast thinking and timely deci­ sions,” and “ being forced to learn technologies that I have avoided in the past.”

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What Female Respondents Disliked About Their Jobs Most o f the respondents were satisfied with their jobs. On a scale of 1 to 5, nine respondents rated their satisfaction as very high (a # 1 rating); twelve respondents checked # 2 on the scale. The remaining three respon­ dents who answered this question checked # s 3, 4, and 5 on the scale respectively indicating the degree of their dissatisfaction. The respon­ dents’ comm ents concerning what they disliked about their jobs varied considerably. Pressure, fatigue, stress, “ having to please so many egos,” and “ the exhausting pace” were common responses. Frustration at the slowness of the bureaucracy and frustration with the “ obstructive nature of the political environment (or Congress) which often undermines impor­ tant program s,” “ political pressure gets in the way o f substance,” “ game playing by top male managers who subordinate programs to ego m assag­ ing and power trips” were mentioned. Other respondents mentioned “ dealing with problem perform ers,” “ confrontation with em ployees,” and “ being in the role of critic, problem finder” as unpleasant aspects of their jobs. Two mentioned that they did not like the subject matter of their jobs. Another group of responses concerned not having enough authority or power, “ not enough influence over agency decision,” “ poor power position,” “ being made to feel I am intruding on the authority of my supervisor,” “ my speciality is not considered im portant.”

Special Skills of the Female Respondents When asked what they were good at doing, the respondents agreed on a number of general skills such as writing, thinking clearly, comm unicat­ ing, speaking, negotiating, managing, organizing, and mediating. Many mentioned that they were good at conceptualizing and problem solving. Others emphasized their interpersonal skills. Finally, respondents men­ tioned that their specialized knowledge was important, whether it be of the law, of particular areas of legislation, of Congress, of grants, or of per­ sonnel matters.

Management Style of the Respondents A number of women spoke of their style as being straight and to the point.

100

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives I have been characterized as being strong, direct, curt, and short. I just think that I am being frank and not wasting a lot of time socializ­ ing . . . I am not very diplom atic. I have never developed the talent for di­ plomacy. I have a godawful frankness with enough humor to take the awful edge off frankness, and som etim es not, intentionally.

Another group spoke o f achieving some kind of balance. I attempt to be an iron hand in a velvet glove. I try to be firm and forceful but also try to be very ladylike and diplom atic. I try to meld the macho maleness . . . not the macho m aleness but the stubborn­ ness and bullishness that the man has with a style that is not offen­ sive and yet try not to be dictatorial. I try to be open and listen and yet, when I m ake a decision, 1 try to be decisive. I smile all the tim e, but 1 write nasty memos. 1 am not afraid to fire people who do not perform and to take disci­ plinary action when people don’t do what they are supposed to. On the other hand, I am glad to reward those who perform very well and recognize and appreciate people who put in the extra effort. One set of responses emphasized teamwork and cooperation. I work very hard to get subordinates that report to me to work to­ gether as a collegial team. I consult with them on everything. My predecessor had a one-on-one style. I try to build a board of direc­ tors and build on that. I get people to trust me because 1 don’t have hidden agendas. I am not form al, so I invite lots of comment and input. I followup. But when I think that everyone is m arching in step, I try to cut them loose. I then support the hell out of them . I have gone on the mat for money, funding, giving people exposure that they have never had before. People like that. They like being trusted. Another style m entioned by several women involved interpersonal skills. I get along with people well. 1 am not intimidated and not intim idat­ ing. I am good at analyzing and problem solving and finding a way to do it. I am very collegial. I toss out ideas and have others give them back in different form . I delegate a lot and try not to interfere

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too m uch w ith the m echanism s by w hich the results are obtained. It w orks very well w ith a professional staff. I talk about different styles a lot w ith one o f m y friends. H is style w hen he has som ething to sell is to put together a slick presentation to dom inate the audience and to convince everyone w ith his presen­ tation. He w ins every tim e. He is brilliant. I d o n ’t com pete with him . I take som eone for lunch. I go up to talk w ith m y boss in the afternoon. I catch people in the ladies’ room . A lot o f the pow er around here is fem ale. A final group o f responses to the inquiry about personal style m entioned concern w ith control. I like to m anage by objectives. I really believe in accountability . . . I am very clear w ith m y staff about outcom e. T hey know that I am very concerned about accountability. I set a real m odel for them . I d o n ’t let a m em o go forw ard that I personally have not read. W hen 1 sign o ff, I’ve read it . . . I am reasonably good at coordinating and controlling and getting out quality pieces o f w ork and keeping tabs on the w ork . . . M y subor­ dinates get recognized. I push them hard and they get recognized w ith aw ards and honors. In com paring the m anagem ent styles o f w om en with those o f m en, the data suggest that w hile som e w om en are particularly concerned w ith inter­ personal skills, in som e agencies, m en are too. T he “ cu ltu re” o f the agency m ay have m ore to do w ith predom inant m anagem ent styles in that agency than do any inherent distinctions betw een m en and w om en with regard to m anagem ent style.

Networks, Support Systems and Social Life at the Office M any o f the w om en in the sam ple reported a certain loneliness that accom panied their jobs. B eing a w om an, it can be lonely at the top. T here are som e conven­ tions about the degree to socialize and there are so few associates w ho are at peer level. I am outgoing, but not a social calendar per­ son. U nless there is a particular w ork urgency, I have som e d iffi­ culty calling a m an and asking him for lunch. I find it difficult to ask som eone for lunch just for com pany. Part o f it is w orking with peo-

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Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives pie who are generally older. They are just not altogether comfort­ able. It is a very lonesome place. I would be the first to admit that if you want to let your hair down, you do it with old friends, because with your professional counterparts, you never know. Is she getting ready to leave? Where is she going to go? Washington is one of those kind of places. It is true for men, too, I am sure. The higher you get, this is a very hard and cold place. Men have different kinds of networks. Men have fraternity networks and they come in from industry and go back. They have that kind of revolving door and that kind of net­ work. This is especially true for political appointments. It is not true for women. Women are not in fields that have that kind of revolving door situation . . . Women haven’t developed that. Maybe in an­ other generation . . . I don’t have a network. I wish I did. I feel isolated.

Some women recognize that some of the isolation is of their own m ak­ ing. I need to work more on pushing myself socially. My boss is a really nice guy. He respects me and his boss is really nice. Once they asked me to go out to lunch with them. They go out once a week. I said no. But if I wanted to go out to lunch with them there would be no problem at all. It is because they know that I don’t go out to lunch. We had a planning conference last year. The way the tables were set up to eat dinner they were six, four, and two. My boss and I sat at a table for two. It was the first time we had ever eaten together. He tried to explain that it doesn’t mean anything. I know that part of it is me, but that is why there is no network. But I don’t feel the need for it either. Socialize? Not here. This is a male dominated agency. I have no interest in socializing here. I don’t do much socializing. Even when I am invited to receptions, I don’t go. I am burned out on receptions. Still other respondents, all in the Health and Human Services Depart­ ment, reported that in their particular agencies there was a very friendly climate, at least on the surface. They reported that everyone went out to

Jane H. Bayes lunch with everyone else. One group had a practice o f drinking beer on Friday afternoons after w ork. One group even went on frequent weekend outings together. W hen asked about netw orks o f friends who served as supporters and advisors, m ost o f the respondents indicated that they did not have net­ w orks, or they m entioned certain groups such as Executive W omen in G overnm ent that passes around job inform ation, or the Treasury W om en’s Network that sponsors sem inars and workshops for w om en. The Health and Hum an Services Departm ent did not have a departm ental w om en’s netw ork. Other respondents reported that they kept in touch with col­ leagues from past jobs, with people on the H ill, with personnel people, with organizations concerned with specific policies and legislation, with colleagues in higher education or in the private sector, or with old political friends outside of W ashington. M any of those who had neither a network nor did much socializing did report having a relationship with one or sev­ eral close professional m ale and/or female friends, often outside o f their own agency, with whom they had lunch frequently and “ talked shop” and/or discussed careers.

CHILDREN AND FAMILY LIFE T hirteen o f the 28 wom en in the sam ple had children living at hom e. The m ethods o f coping were varied; how ever, one wom an expressed a com m on theme when asked how it w as to raise a family and work in her position. It is hard and anyone who tells you it isn’t must either have $8 billion dollars and be able to hire everybody or else they are lying. You get up at least two hours earlier than your friends. You do everything ahead of time because you never know. You pray that you don’t ever get sick because you can’t afford to. The biggest issue that every wom an w ho has children has is childcare. W ho is going to be there to provide the quality childcare that we are com ­ mitted to? The resolution of that became the m ajor factor in every job I have had. That had to be taken care o f first before 1 could go out the door. W hen 1 did go out the door, 1 would block it out of my m ind. It’s the only way to survive. And then when you go hom e, it is a whole refocus. And that is basically what you do because you have to. 1 am an unbelievable listm aker. I have lists here, I have lists at hom e. I have lists stuck on the bulletin board. . . . It is tough sledding. It is just unbelievable what you do.

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As noted above, most o f the women with children do not work quite as long hours at the office as those who do not have children, although they all report being at the office for over 9 hours each day. The arrangements for childcare in the m orning and in the evening and for other activities differ. Husbands also take various degrees of responsibility for child rais­ ing among the couples in the sample. Tw o of the respondents are single parents. Five of the 13 with children at home report that their husbands love the children, that they play with them , and they will do things for the children when asked, but that they do not take responsibility for them in the sense of making sure that they get their shots, that they are fed, clothed, and schooled properly, and that they get to and from their activ­ ities. Three o f the thirteen reported a shared parenting situation. These couples stagger their work hours and divide and share duties and responsi­ bilities. In one situation, the husband was responsible for all housekeeping and child rearing activities. Those women who are single parents with young children have live-in help arrangements. This was also true for many of the wom en when their children were o f preschool age. The five married women in the sample who bear primary responsibility for their children hire help for after school or they depend on other m oth­ ers to help with carpooling their children to various activities. They then work hard at finding ways of reciprocating which will not interfere with their work schedule. It is these women who reported most vociferously their feelings of guilt or of being torn in two directions. Tw o women spoke of feeling guilty later. I know that my daughter has experienced periods of loneliness. Should I have paid more attention? S he’s in high school now. She has lots o f friends and a very active social life. Yesterday, I asked her if she liked tapioca. She said yes. I said, ‘Well you know w hat, Pam, I am going to make you tapioca som eday.’ My mother was always making things like tapioca. —I feel that I have shortchanged m yself not having the flexibility to do all the carpooling and so forth. I feel tom .

Factors Which Have Helped Women's Advancement the Most W hen asked to identify the factors that helped the w om en’s m ovem ent, the respondents mentioned affirmative action and equal opportunity laws most often. Other external factors mentioned included the econom y, fer­ tility control, more labor force participation by wom en, and the scarcity of enough qualified persons to fill m anagem ent jobs. Leadership from the

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top w as often m entioned. In addition to factors external to w om en, many cited the activities and achievem ents o f wom en them selves. The publi­ cized success o f the first wom en to break sex barriers and serve as role m odels w as mentioned by several of them . Increased know ledge, in­ creased education, and increased experience at high levels o f managem ent along with hard w ork, perseverance, and determ ination were mentioned by many respondents. Some of the factors considered by some as advanc­ ing wom en are considered by others as a barrier. For exam ple, some w om en identify overaggressiveness as being a barrier to w om en. Others suggest that lack of aggressiveness is a major problem . Some women think affirm ative action program s have been extremely important to the advancem ent of wom en; others think that they encourage the appointm ent of incom petent wom en w ho then damage the advancem ent of other more capable w om en.

Attitudes Towards Feminism At the very end o f the interview , the interviewer asked each respondent to define what the word “ fem inism ” m eant to her. The follow ing ques­ tion was: Are you a feminist? T his question elicited some very interesting and often som ewhat contradictory opinions from the respondents. O f the 22 respondents replying to this inquiry, only 5 said that they were fem i­ nists, and even some o f these placed qualifications on their identification. All but one o f these respondents were in the Departm ent o f Health and Human Services. All the rem aining wom en respondents were either un­ w illing to call them selves fem inists or else were careful to dissociate them selves with fem inism unless the concept were carefully defined as equal opportunity and equal treatm ent for wom en and not some radical bra burning activity. M any o f these wom en had described incidents of dis­ crim ination in their own lives. M any had consciously made an effort to help other wom en. One wom an in the Treasury Departm ent m ay have explained this reluc­ tance for m ost o f these wom en to call them selves fem inists. She said, “ 1 think that if I were very active in the w om en’s m ovem ent, I w ouldn’t have gotten where I am now. I can also say that I w ouldn’t stay h ere.” Most of the respondents fell into the category of associating feminism with bra burning, aggressive, m an-hating activism , or else with the concept of ad­ vocacy for w om en. They denied that they were fem inists, but then they w ent on to say that they believed in equal opportunity for wom en and that wom en should have the opportunity to work or not to work in the paid labor force. At least som e o f the responses to these questions reflected a sophisticated understanding o f the contributions of what they called “ the

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bra burners,” even though they wanted to distance themselves from any activity of that sort and were unwilling to call themselves feminists except in the sense that feminism meant equal opportunity and equal treatment for wom en.

OTHER GENERAL FINDINGS: SEXUAL HARASSMENT All of the respondents indicated that sexual harassment was not a prob­ lem for them at their level. One woman had experienced sexual harass­ ment in a government agency in the sense of being hounded to go out by a male superior when she was younger. She reported running down the halls and hiding in the ladies’ room to avoid this m an. Another respondent reported that the man she replaced had left because o f numerous reports of sexual harassment by his subordinates. Other women said that they had heard o f cases o f sexual harassment in their past experience, especially those who had worked in the private sector, but did not regard it as a major problem at present in their agency.

Discrimination Many of the wom en, som etim es without being specifically asked, gave exam ples of incidents of discrimination that had occurred in their careers. One black woman said that over the years she had experienced more dis­ crim ination from being female than she had from being black. Two women spoke o f being told that they could not have an expected prom o­ tion because they would then make more than their husbands. A number of lawyers and one accountant said that they joined the government as young professionals because the private sector would not hire them . Even today, several respondents indicated that the female applicants with law degrees have much higher qualifications than the male applicants. Re­ spondents spoke of the “ old boy netw ork” which exists at both the T rea­ sury Departm ent and at the Health and Human Services Department below the Secretarial level. (The Secretary is a w om an.) One respondent said that this network was particularly effective in distributing merit awards and bonuses to m embers of the network. A num ber of women gave exam ples of difficulty in first entering the work force with an advanced degree and constantly being asked in the job interview whether they could type. One respondent when the question came again during an interview said, “ No, can you?” She did not get the job. Another said she took a job at Bank of America because it was the

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first job interview she had had in four m onths that d idn’t ask her how fast she could type. She had a m asters degree in journalism . She also reported that there w as m uch less discrim ination in W ashington. “ T here is m uch better acceptance o f w om en w orking than there is in other c itie s .”

OVERALL CONCLUSIONS: GENERAL STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT W hile it m ay seem difficult to generalize from a sam ple o f 28 respon­ dents, the universe from w hich they are draw n, w om en residing in W ash­ ington w ho are GS 15 or above in the Health and Hum an Services D epart­ m en t and the T re a su ry D e p a rtm e n t, is s m a ll, c o n s is tin g o f 128 individuals. If all the w om en at GS 15 and above living outside of W ash­ ington w ere added it w ould increase the pool by only 30 persons. For m en, the universe is m uch larger since the com bined upper ranks o f the H ealth and H um an Services and T reasury D epartm ents are only about 10 percent fem ale. A clear difference in culture existed betw een the Health and Hum an Services D epartm ent and the T reasury D epartm ent especially with regard to the situation o f w om en. W om en in the T reasury D epartm ent express m any m ore feelings o f constraint with regard to their fem ale identity. In this agency w ith the few w om en at the top, it is m ore dangerous politically to identify w ith fem ale causes. W om en in the T reasury D epartm ent seem to have m ore at stake in assuring them selves and others o f their profes­ sionalism , their com petence, their w orthiness to be in the position that they arc in regardless o f their sex. In the H ealth and Hum an Services D epartm ent, respondents w ere m ore com fortable identifying them selves with fem inist causes. Even am ong those w ho do consider them selves fem ­ inists, the understanding o f fem inism is prim arily in term s o f equal oppor­ tunity. W hile a few w om en (4) expressed an appreciation for the “ brabu rn e rs” in an historical sense, none o f the w om en (except perhaps one indirectly) seem ed to know about or understand the concepts and objec­ tives o f radical fem inism as a political m ovem ent. One w om an m ade it very clear that a rejection o f active fem inism w as clearly a strategy that w om en m ust adopt if they are to survive in high positions in the federal governm ent. T his does not m ean that these w om en do not w ork to p ro ­ m ote w om en and w o m en ’s issues. Several are in a position to influence m ajor legislation w ith regard to w om en and have m ade m ajor con trib u ­ tions in bettering the lives o f w om en through such actions as m aking credit law s and regulations m ore equitable for w om en or in pointing out to C ongress how certain proposed pieces o f legislation hurt w om en such as

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provision to the Aid For Dependent Children program not to pay benefits unless they were over $10, which would in turn eliminate eligibility for state medicare program s in many states. This would affect many women and their children. In this latter case, the respondent gave the example to illustrate her ability to think through the consequences of proposed legisla­ tion. She did not use the example to illustrate her commitment to wom en. As a civil servant, she is not supposed to be an advocate. She herself was one who had hostile feelings about feminism. The degree of consciousness about helping other women seemed to vary roughly in relation to the respondent’s identification as a feminist. Many indicated that they tried to help both men and women subordinates with their careers. Those who identified as feminists cited several exam ­ ples of talented women they had “ found,” prom oted, and often encour­ aged to move on to further their careers. Strategies with regard to networking were not central to the conscious­ ness of the respondents. Many indicated that they were slightly involved with the Treasury W om en’s Network or with Executive Women in G ov­ ernment or with various professional groups both inside and outside of W ashington. All the respondents reported close personal relationships with both men and women that they used as support system s for advice and as sounding boards for ideas and possible future strategies. Usually these groups were small and, for over half, they were at least partially if not entirely male in composition. The career histories of the women indicated a marked difference for political and career appointm ents, as discussed above. Among the career­ ists, about half had worked their way up in the same agency, while the other half had developed strategies of moving laterally and then getting prom oted. The political appointees also varied. All but one of the political appointees had come to W ashington with the Reagan Adm inistration. Some had had varied careers in political campaign organizations, working as staff in state governm ents, and/or working as staff for m embers of Congress. Others were recruited from the private sector, from industry, and from education because of their expertise and, in some cases, because of their political participation. Some of the political appointees were m ov­ ing out of government and back into industry now “ before the rush” at the end of the Reagan adm inistration in 1988. Others spoke of plans to move within the next two years for the same reason. The fact that the Adm inistration was Republican in 1985-87 when this study was con­ ducted influenced this study tremendously in that the backgrounds and attitudes of the female political appointees in a Democratic Administration

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probably w ould be quite different. T w elve o f the 28 respondents w ere political appointm ents. P erhaps the m ost com m on them e that em erged in considering the possi­ bilities for advancem ent o f career w om en in the future related to the sm all num ber o f positions at the top, the relatively young age o f m ost o f the w om en w ho have broken into the top ranks, and the sm all num ber of retirem ents and/or openings that are likely to be available to either w om en or m en for the next 20 years. T his observation, o f course, assum es that the percentages o f w om en in the top political appointee ranks o f the federal governm ent departm ents will rem ain at their current low levels. Given the present political era in the U nited States, that assum ption is not unrealis­ tic.

R E FE R EN C ES Lyle, Jerolyn R., and Jane L. Ross. 1973. Women in Industry: Employment Pat­ terns in Corporate America. Lexington, Mass: D.C. Heath. Oppenheimer, Valerie Kincade. 1970. The Female Labor Force in the United States: Demographic and Economic Factors Governing Its Growth and Changing Composition, Population Monograph Series No 5. University of California, Berkeley: Institute of International Studies. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1988. Handbook o f Labor Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau. 1983. Time o f Change: 1983 Hand­ book on Women Workers, Bulletin 298 U.S. House of Representatives. 1984. Subcommittee on Employment Opportuni­ ties, Committee on Education and Labor, “ The State of Affirmative Action in the Federal Government: Staff Report Analyzing 1980 and 1983 Employment Profiles,” Committee Print. 98th Congress, 2d Session, August, 1984. Waldman, Elizabeth, and Beverly J. McEaddy. 1975. “ Where Women Work — An Analysis by Industry and Occupations,” U.S. Department of Labor, Bu­ reau of Labor Statistics, Bulletin 1868.

W om en and Public A dm inistration: A C om parative Perspective — Conclusion Jane H . Bayes

The initial aim o f this research effort w as to assess the status o f w om en in top adm inistrative positions and to docum ent and com pare the preva­ lence o f various barriers to w o m en ’s advancem ent in public adm inistra­ tion in several countries. T he expectation w as that w om en in public a d ­ m in istra tio n w o u ld have sim ila r e x p erien c e s c ro ss-n a tio n a lly . T he question w as, how sim ilar w ould these barriers be and w here w ould the differences lie? Studies o f the status o f w om en in a variety o f countries throughout the w orld during the W om en’s D ecade m ake it clear that the differences betw een w om en o f different cultures, histories, and econom ic circum stances are substantial despite the sim ilarities o f childbearing, child rearing, and general econom ic, social, and political subordination to men that characterize w om en in all cultures (M organ 1984; Seager and Olson 1986; L ovenduski 1986; Iglitzin and Ross 1986). O f the variables involv­ ing difference, religion and econom ic organization m ay have the largest im pact on the socialization o f w om en and on w o m en ’s access to ed u ca­ tion. The organization o f the state also is significant as states assum e different functions in socialist, developing, and advanced capitalist eco n o ­ m ies as well as in dem ocracies o f various types, m ilitary dictatorships, and com m unist regim es. Federal versus central bureaucratic organization m ay also be im portant.

PROBLEMS OF COMPARISON A s noted in the Introduction, the data collected for this study indicate that the w ays different societies treat w om en and w om en in top adm inis­ trative positions are sim ilar in som e aspects and, at the sam e tim e, also quite unique to each individual society. W hat seem to be quite sim ilar outcom es m ay be defined by very, different conditions. The intellectual © 1991 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ill

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dilem ma is not unlike the struggle many W estern feminists have been having with the concept of the patriarchy. The patriarchy is useful as a concept because it unites women in show ing that w om en’s oppression is universal and global. At the same tim e, the concept in itself may be op­ pressive to women in that it obscures very real and important differences among wom en. Perhaps the most that can be done in a com parison of this nature is to note the sim ilarities at the same time as one notes the differ­ ences. This symposium conclusion, first, will compare the data for the various countries according to the questions posed by the common re­ search interview and questionnaire instruments. A sum m ary of the distin­ guishing characteristics of the findings for each country will follow. Fi­ nally, to give context to the comparative enterprise, a discussion of some of the major differences between the countries and the position of women within them will set the stage for the argument that the sim ilarities that describe women in top administrative positions and the barriers they con­ tinue to experience in all the countries o f this symposium are not easily correlated with other variables measured in this study. The evidence does support the importance o f the structure o f the econom y, the role of the state in the econom y and in the society, and the structure of the labor force in establishing the possibilities for women in higher administrative posi­ tions. Access to appropriate higher education for women is another critical variable supported by the findings of this study. Yet these factors alone do little to explain some of the important sim ilarities or differences in social­ ization and experience that the respondents reported.

A Comparison of Interview and Questionnaire Data: Numbers of Women in Top Positions A com parison of the interview and questionnaire data gathered in each country generates a num ber of observations. First, women are in top posi­ tions in the public bureaucracies of all o f these countries. How ever, their num bers are limited. Com parison is difficult because it is not clear where the line between “ top” and “ upper level” or “ middle level” should be drawn in any country. The research group decided to define the top 10 percent o f the salary structure as “ top level” for purposes of comparative sam pling. In practice, the small number of women in “ top” adm inistra­ tive jobs in several countries meant that researchers had to expand the definition o f “ top level” to include women in “ upper level” and even “ middle level” in some cases. The Bulgarian data are particularly diffi­ cult as the government makes no distinction between public and private enterprises. Ananieva and Razvigorova report that women constituted 30

Jane H. Bayes percent o f all m anagerial positions in B ulgaria in 1984; how ever, their data do not identify how m any o f these w om en are in the top ranks o f the m anagerial cadre. In spite o f these difficulties, som e com parisons are p o s­ sible. In the N etherlands, w om en com pose 2 and 5 percent o f the top two salary levels. In the U nited States, w om en constituted 7 percent o f the top adm inistrative levels (GS 16-18 and the Senior Executive Service, SES) as a w hole in 1983. In the A griculture, D efense, and T reasury D epart­ m ents w om en w ere in few er than 6 percent o f the top jo b s and in D epart­ m ents like H ealth and H um an Services and E ducation they held as m any as 16 percent o f the top positions. L angkau-H errm ann and Sessar-K arpp report that in G erm any, less than 1 percent o f the top grade o f the civil service are w om en, and only 6 percent o f the upper grade civil service are w om en. O nly 17 percent o f the full-tim e civil service em ployees were w om en. T he report from Finland indicates that w hile w om en have m ade significant inroads in obtaining top positions in parliam ent and in party politics, only one or tw o w om en hold positions in the top levels o f the bureaucracy. In the m iddle levels o f the bureaucracy, w om en constitute 13 percent o f the assistant departm ent heads (4th highest level in the h ier­ archy) and 9 percent o f all bureau heads. In India, the elite Indian A dm in­ istrative Services has no m ore than 11 percent w om en.

EDUCATION AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND All the w om en in the top levels o f the adm inistration in each country exhibited high levels o f education. In m ost countries, a university degree or perform ance on a com petitive exam ination is a m inim um qualification for entry into the civil service ranks. The U nited States sam ple included a num ber o f w om en w ho had entered the civil service at a low er level w ith ­ out a degree. In m ost cases, these w om en acquired a degree at a later date. The social background o f top w om en adm inistrators varies considerably according to country. In India, the top fem ale adm inistrators in the sam ple all cam e from fairly w ell-educated fam ilies. Forty-five percent o f the sam ­ ple w ere upper caste H indu w om en. T hirty-one percent o f the sam ple had fathers w ho w ere in the public service. O ver 40 percent o f the sam ple cam e from an upper incom e level group. W hile the U nited States sam ple had representatives o f all social class backgrounds, B ulgaria exhibited perhaps the greatest social m obility. O nly one w om an in the sam ple o f 20 top fem ale adm inistrators had a parent w ith m ore than a secondary level education.

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FAMILY, MARRIAGE, AND CHILDREN In all of the countries considered here, the percentage of the top women sampled in each country who were married varied rather drastically. In Bulgaria, 85 percent were married; in India, 74 percent; in the United States, 60 percent (90 percent o f the men in top positions were married); in Finland, 56 percent; in G erm any, 42 percent (78 percent o f the men in the top grade were married); in the Netherlands, only 16 percent of the women in the sample were married although 50 percent of the sample was either married or cohabiting. The num ber of children also varied. In Fin­ land and in the United States, top male managers tended to have more children than top female managers. In both the Finnish and the United States sam ples, 45 percent of the women administrators had no children. In the United States, only 4 percent of the sample o f males did not have any children. In G erm any, 25 percent o f the sam ple of women had chil­ dren. In the N etherlands, only 16 percent o f the sample had children, although other women in the sample were young enough to contem plate the prospect. In Bulgaria, all the married women had children. In India, the women in the sample had much sm aller families than is the average for India. The average num ber o f children for the women in the I.A .S . sam ­ ple was one, while the average num ber of children per woman for all of India in 1981 was over five.

AGE Indian women were not allowed to enter the prestigious Indian A dm in­ istrative Services until 1951, which helps to explain why 90 percent of the Indian sample were under 45 years old. In the Netherlands, 75 percent of the interviewed women were between 32 and 40 years o f age. In Finland, with its longer tradition of having women involved in the labor force, 72 percent o f the sample of top administrators were 40 years of age and older. The same age structure characterizes the women in the German and Bul­ garian sam ples where 87 percent and 85 percent respectively were over 40 years old. In the United States, the highest proportion (48 percent) of the women in the sample o f top administrators were between 40-49 years of age. For the male sam ple, 74 percent were between 40-49. Forty-one percent o f the female sample were between 30-39 in age while only 7 percent o f the males in comparable positions were in this younger age bracket. Perhaps in response to affirm ative action policies and in the ab­ sence of older women in career ladder chains, women have recently been

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able to m ove into top positions at younger ages than m en in the U nited States.

BARRIERS TO ADVANCEMENT W hen asked to identify the factors that w ere barriers to w o m en ’s ad ­ vancem ent, w om en in every country tended to list som e factors character­ istic o f the society as a w hole; som e factors characteristic o f public adm in­ istration structures and practices; and som e factors peculiar to w om en them selves. A m ong the social contextual factors w ere the general percep­ tion o f the society as a w hole that w om en are inferior, the lack o f child care program s, the lack o f education and training for w om en, and the lack o f fam ily support. Factors that relate to the public bureaucracies them ­ selves include: unw illingness to be flexible enough to accom m odate w om en trying to raise children; recruitm ent and prom otion practices that discrim inate against w om en; m asculine traditions and netw orks; lack of positive fem ale role m odels; and unw illingness o f m en to give wom en “ g o o d ” positions or assignm ents that could help the w om en advance. Factors that are peculiar to w om en them selves include such item s as lack o f self-confidence, lack o f am bition, com m itm ent to fam ily responsibili­ ties over jo b responsibilities; lack o f experience, education, ability, and/or hard w ork; failure by w om en to plan and m onitor their careers; and un­ w illingness to take risks. Factors that w om en adm inistrators agree have facilitated the advancem ent o f w om en include: the grow ing proportion o f w om en in the public sector; leadership from the top; legal changes; the grow ing com petence, training, education, and experience o f w om en; the developm ent o f w o m en ’s netw orks; the grow ing global w o m en ’s m ove­ m ent; the increased participation o f w om en in political activities o f all sorts; and the scarcity o f w ell-qualified persons for m anagem ent jobs.

MANAGEMENT STYLE M any o f the fem ale respondents in all countries reported their m anage­ rial style to be m ore “ o p e n ,” m ore “ d e m o cratic,” m ore “ c o n se n su al,” or m ore “ participatory” than the m anagem ent styles o f m en. The W est G erm an study found w om en to engage in m ore dem ocratic, consultative styles o f m anagem ent. In the U nited States study the data supported the hypothesis that w om en have dem ocratic, consultative m anagem ent styles, how ever the data show that at least som e m en also use dem ocratic, c onsul­ tative styles. The style o f m anagem ent in an organization m ay depend m ore on the “ cu ltu re” o f the organization than on the gender o f the ad­

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m inistrators. The U nited States data do suggest that the percentage o f w om en in the top levels o f an organization affects the behavior o f w om en in that organization. As organizations begin to approach having w om en in 20 percent o f their top leadership positions, the environm ent for wom en changes. W hen top wom en are few in num ber, they m ust adopt male behavior patterns in m any instances to survive. In contrast, w hen wom en constitute over 20 percent o f an organization, they can begin to identify and act as wom en with less chance of retribution. T hey can even begin to netw ork and do som e organizing. In the top levels o f every country’s bureaucracy, the percentage of wom en in the top echelons is considerably less than 20 percent, although in the U nited States w om en occupy b e ­ tween 13 and 16 percent o f the top positions in som e departm ents like Education and Health and Hum an Services. The interview data in the U nited States show ed very different attitudes about dress, about speech, and about political activity for w om en am ong those respondents in the agency w ith the larger proportion o f wom en in top positions.

SOME UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH COUNTRY AS A WHOLE The status o f w om en in public adm inistration in each o f the six studies reflects conditions and priorities peculiar to the history and culture of each country. India is special in that it is a large nation hovering betw een m o­ dernity and tradition. Both the Hindu and M uslim religions play a large role in the society. W om en constitute only 25 percent o f the w aged labor force in India, and alm ost 50 percent o f the fem ale labor force w orks as agricultural laborers. Eighty percent o f the population is rural. Because of these characteristics, the barriers for w om en adm inistrators in India are sim ilar to those in m any o f the traditional agricultural societies o f A sia, A frica, and Latin A m erica. In 1981, only 25 percent o f the Indian female population w ere literate com pared to 47 percent o f the m ale population. Traditional social norm s w hich define m arriage as the m ain vocation for w om en continue to be w idespread and pow erful. At the sam e tim e, m ore w om en are becom ing educated. W om en’s em ploym ent in the service sec­ tor and especially in the public service has been increasing. In 1977, w om en constituted 52 percent o f all em ployees in the public sector. The inheritance o f the British Civil Service during the colonial period is very apparent in the recruitm ent procedures and requirem ents o f the civil ser­ vice w here a graduate degree is a m inim um qualification for entry. Sw arup and Sinha in their interview s discovered that m ost o f the wom en in the top adm inistrative positions o f the civil service w ere w ell-educated

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them selves and from w ell-educated fam ilies with relatively high incom es. M any o f the wom en (31 percent) had fathers w ho were or had been in the civil service. In a variety o f other w ays, such as late m arriage, love m ar­ riage, urban background, and small family size, the wom en in the Indian sam ple exhibit the characteristics o f a m odernized elite group operating in a society that m aintains largely traditional cultural traditions and norms. The top wom en adm inistrators m ust cope with this disjunction in the con­ flicting everyday social pressures that develop between their roles at home and their roles in the office. W hile this phenom enon exists for wom en in all countries, the gap between the m odern world of public adm inistration inspired by the British and the traditional world o f most Indian wom en is much greater than it is in any European country or in the United States. Bulgaria represents the category of countries having a state directed econom y where the Com m unist ideology, a governm ent com m itted to m odernization, and a shortage o f labor, especially educated labor, have encouraged the state to declare wom en the equal of m en, to educate w om en, and to integrate wom en into practically all occupations in the econom y. Bulgaria is unique in that its wom en have had a history of political involvem ent while resisting Ottom an and Nazi oppression. In a country that em erged from W orld W ar II as a traditional agricultural society where most of the population, particularly w om en, did not have higher educa­ tion, Bulgarian wom en have made enorm ous strides in the last few de­ cades. The socialist revolution o f 1944 with its em phasis on social and econom ic developm ent has meant that wom en have been recruited into education and into production in traditionally male fields such as law, engineering, and econom ics in a way that has not occurred to the same degree in non-socialist countries. W hile traditional patterns o f sex segre­ gation persist in that wom en continue to be prim arily responsible for hom em aking and child care, state policies cncourage wom en to participate in the labor force by providing child care and other social services. A l­ though the state is pushing both men and wom en to accept new egalitarian roles for w om en, Ananieva and Razvigorova report that alm ost half of the wom en in their sam ple were reluctant to accept high adm inistrative posts and were som ewhat dissatisfied with their jobs. Only about a third of the sam ple expressed an enthusiasm for adm inistrative w ork. Many of the wom en in the Bulgarian sam ple were more interested in w orking in their specialties rather than as “ functionaries” or m anagers. The rewards of more responsibility and som ewhat higher pay in a society where consum er goods are scarce are not particularly attractive to many wom en in Bui-

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garia. This lack of desire among wom en for higher positions reported by Ananieva and Razvigorova could be due to a num ber of other factors as w ell, such as the lack o f prestige given top administrative positions open to women; state or party influence in directing career choices for the ad­ m inistrators; and the socialization of wom en, a frustrating bureaucracy, or the increased difficulty o f com bining family responsibilities with a time consum ing responsible position in a society where daily living is difficult. The status of wom en in the industrialized nations of the United States and W estern Europe is differentiated from the status of women in state driven industrializing countries and in more traditional or colonial agricul­ tural societies in that the pressure for women to break traditional barriers comes not so much from the top down but rather more from grassroot pressures spurred by the econom y and trends in the labor market as well as by w om en’s political activities. In the Netherlands, historical conditions have operated to keep women out of the work force in a way that is unique in com parison with other European countries. W hile women constitute around 50 percent of the work force in other European countries (with the exception of Germany and Ireland) in the 1980s, in the Netherlands only 35 percent of the em ­ ployed were wom en. W hereas 39 percent of all women were in the paid labor force, only 18 percent of married women were in the paid labor force. Socialization patterns which Leyenaar describes as “ the culture of m otherhood” are reflected in the fact that in 1981 only 16 percent of those women under 35 with small children were employed as compared with 75 percent of those in the same age group without children. This pattern of career interruption is extremely important in explaining why more women are not in the top echelons o f the bureaucracy in the Netherlands. The widespread “ culture of m otherhood” has serious implications for the re­ cruitm ent into the bureaucracy o f talented young wom en. Many believe they must choose between career and family. The situation in Germ any as reported by Langkau-Herrmann and Sessar-Karpp is sim ilar to that of the Netherlands in that West German wom en in the 1980s constituted only about a third of all employed per­ sons. Part-time employm ent is particularly prevalent in West Germ any for wom en. O f all working wom en, approxim ately a third work only parttime and two thirds report interrupting their employm ent for family rea­ sons. Since high level administrative jobs are usually not part-time posi­ tions, part-time women em ployees are almost by definition excluded not only from the high level positions but from the career ladders that lead to these positions. In direct government service, women are not well repre-

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sented especially at the upper levels. Only 24 percent of all governm ent workers are w om en. O f these, 36 percent are part-time em ployees. Only 17 percent of full-time government workers are wom en. O f all part-time w orkers, 95 percent are w om en. W hile part-time em ploym ent and the ability to interrupt em ploym ent to bear and care for children is a demand which m any in the w om en’s movem ent have w orked to have m et, parttime em ploym ent and career interruption are not compatible with success in com petitive career ladders. The large num ber o f top wom en adm inistra­ tors in the sam ple w ho were unm arried (42 percent) and the larger number w ho had never had children (70 percent) suggests that Leyenaar’s “ cul­ ture o f m otherhood’’ that encourages wom en to choose between career and family operates in W est G erm any as it does in the N etherlands. Finland is unique in the extent to which the governm ent provides em ­ ployment for women and in the degree of sex segregation that pervades its various levels of governm ent. That 45 percent of the wom en but only 25 percent o f the men work in the public sector suggests that the state, per­ haps in response to the tight labor supply, has been successful in attracting w om en to public em ploym ent. S inkkonen, H änninen-S alm elin, and Karento describe the ways that wom en in Finnish public adm inistration are concentrated at the local and municipal levels rather than at the state level. The functions o f governm ent, such as health, education, and social services, traditionally female functions, are also concentrated primarily at the local and m unicipal levels, while state functions involving transporta­ tion, finance, law enforcem ent, and diplom acy are delegated to the state where wom en are not as well represented either in the bureaucracy or in the legislative bodies. The size of the federal bureaucracy in the United States and the rela­ tively large num bers of women in top positions (although the percentages may be sm all) enabled the research in the United States to follow more closely the original research design for the project. The original plan was to interview 12 women in top positions in a traditionally male dom inated departm ent such as finance and 12 top wom en in a department dealing with traditionally female roles in the society such as health, education, or social services. Unlike some other countries, in the United States both the Treasury Departm ent and the Health and Human Services Departm ent had enough wom en in top positions to accom plish this goal. The United States, the W est G erm an, and the Finnish studies unlike the others all included a com parable sample of males that provides a way of checking w hether characteristics of the female sample are gender related or due to other factors. The role o f wom en in United States federal government

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agencies is a particularly skew ed one in that w om en in public service constitute betw een 57 percent (A griculture) and 92 percent (Education) o f the lowest grade levels GS 1-8 for all thirteen departm ents, and they com ­ pose only betw een 3 percent (D efense) and 16 percent (Education) o f the highest grade levels (GS 16-18 and SE S). Roughly speaking, a positive correlation seem s to exist betw een the num ber o f wom en in the lower levels and num ber o f w om en in the upper grade levels for any one agency despite the enorm ous difference in num bers o f w om en in the lower and upper grades. The findings o f the United States study show that the recruitm ent of wom en into top positions in the bureaucracy varies significantly according to the function o f the agency. A gencies that perform social functions that have traditionally been fem ale roles such as Health and Hum an Services or E ducation, tend to recruit larger num bers o f w om en into top positions. Agencies such as D efense, A griculture, T reasury, and Transportation do not. In addition to presenting com parative inform ation concerning high ranking w om en in the T reasury and Health and H um an Services D epart­ m ents, the U nited States data show both m ale and fem ale top adm inistra­ tors exhibiting open dem ocratic m anagem ent styles that have traditionally been associated with fem ale adm inistrators.

SUMMARIZING THE SIMILARITIES THAT DESCRIBE WOMEN IN TOP ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS The six countries in this study exhibit som e striking sim ilarities with regard to the sm all num bers o f w om en in top adm inistrative positions, the highly educated backgrounds o f these w om en, the experience o f discrim i­ nation and the existence o f gender related barriers to advancem ent that these w om en report in their career histories, and the enorm ous burden o f fam ily, m arriage, and child care on w om en that continues to affect all the wom en in all the countries. The data generally support, but do not co n ­ firm , the notion that w om en adm inistrators as a w hole tend to exhibit a more open, consultative m anagem ent style in com parison with the typi­ cally m ore authoritarian style o f m ale adm inistrators. The data also sup­ port the hypothesis that w om en as token m inorities in m ost bureaucracies attem pt to conform at least to som e extent to the existing norm s o f the organization rather than attem pt to make dram atic or heroic efforts to initiate change. W om en adm inistrators have confidence in their ow n abili­ ties, and those w ho are satisfied with their jo b s generally believe that m erit (even fem ale m erit) is rewarded at least som e o f the tim e.

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A DISCUSSION OF SOME OF THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES IN THE COUNTRIES IN THIS SYMPOSIUM To assess whether any further useful observations can be drawn from the com parison of wom en in top adm inistrative positions in the six coun­ tries o f this sym posium , a discussion of some of their major characteristics is useful. A discussion o f differences in the labor force com es first fol­ lowed by some information drawn from this study and other aggregate data sources. Aggregate data for com parative purposes is notoriously in­ accurate. Nevertheless, available aggregate data remain the “ best guess” approxim ation for purposes such as this one.

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE Finland, Bulgaria, and the United States all have had significant num ­ bers o f wom en working in the paid labor force for many years. In Finland, 55 percent o f all w orking age wom en were in the paid labor force as early as 1900. In Bulgaria, 45 percent o f the econom ically active population were wom en in 1946. In the United States, the labor force participation rate for wom en was about 19 percent in 1900. This percentage increased to over 25 percent in 1940 and to over 52 percent by 1985. In G erm any, approxim ately a third of the labor force has been female since W orld W ar II. The N etherlands is the only European country that does not have a history o f wom en being very active in the paid labor force. From 1900 to 1960, only about 20 percent o f the paid labor force was female. H ow ever, after 1960, this percentage began to rise to about 35 percent where it is today. In contrast, in India the participation of wom en in the paid labor force has declined during the century from 34 percent o f the labor force in 1911 to 26 percent by the 1980s. Com parative figures for the early 1980s are presented in Table 1.

ROLE CONFLICT The percentage of m arried wom en in the paid work force compared with all wom en in the paid work force also varies considerably suggesting that role conflict for w orking m arried women is greater in some industrial cultures than in others. In the United States, most wom en in the labor force are m arried; 56 percent of all wom en are in paid w ork, and 52 percent of all wom en are m arried and in paid w ork. In W est G erm any, the com parable percentages indicate that 50 percent o f all wom en w ork, and

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Table 1: Comparisons of Labor Force Aggregate Data India

USA

Germany

Netherlands

Finland

Bulgaria

* of Paid Labor Force that are women

26

43

39

34

47

43

* of Women who are working for Wages

30

56

50

39

63

67

Joni Seager and Ann Olson. 1986. Women in the World Atlas. N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, 9299.

33 percent are m arried and w ork. In the N etherlands, 39 percent o f all wom en w ork but only 18 percent o f all wom en w ork and are m arried (Seager and O lson 1986, 16).

THE PUBLIC SECTOR For all the countries in this sym posium , the public sector has been ex­ trem ely im portant in providing em ploym ent for w om en, especially in re­ cent years. In India in the late 1970s, 53 percent o f em ployed wom en w orked in the public sector —especially in state and local governm ents. In Finland, 42 percent o f the fem ale labor force and only 25 percent o f the m ale labor force w ere in the public sector in 1983. In both Finland and India, w om en’s public em ploym ent has been prim arily at the m unicipal level. In the N etherlands, 49 percent o f all em ployed w om en w ere in the public sector in 1981. In the U nited States, 38 to 42 percent o f the jobs on the federal, state, and local levels w ere held by w om en in 1980. This distinction betw een the public and private sectors, o f course, is not m ean­ ingful in Bulgaria w here all em ploym ent is public.

OCCUPATIONAL SEX SEGREGATION O ccupational sex segregation characterizes the labor force o f all the countries in this study in varying degrees. In India, 83 percent o f the fem ale labor force is in agriculture. O f those in the professions, m ost wom en are teachers or nurses. In the public sector, m ost Indian wom en are clericals, although the num ber o f female adm inistrators, directors, m anagers, and executives has been increasing som ew hat since 1961. The Indian N ational E m ploym ent Service actually classifies jo b s into m ale/ fem ale categories. In Finland, the sex segregation o f jobs is defined to a

Jane H. Bayes

123

substantial degree according to public and private econom y cleavages as well as according to the divisions betw een state and m unicipal levels of governm ent. M ales tend to dom inate the private sectors o f the econom y as well as the state level o f the public sector dealing with transportation, roads, rails, highw ays, police, and the arm y, while wom en dom inate in the m unicipalities where the public health, education, and social services functions are adm inistered. The N etherlands, W est G erm any, and the United States also exhibit continuing job sex segregation. In the N ether­ lands, one-third of all em ployed wom en work in four occupations, while one-third of all em ployed males w ork in 14 occupations. G erm any is sim i­ lar to Finland and the N etherlands in that the public sector is a major em ployer o f w om en. In the United States in the 1980s, 54 percent o f all em ployed wom en were either in clerical or service jobs. Forty percent of all female workers were em ployed in only 10 occupations in 1981, includ­ ing clerical, nursing, retail sales, cashier, w aitress, and elem entary school teacher occupations. In the public sector o f the United States, women dom inated the lower but not the m iddle and upper levels of public adm in­ istration at both the state and national levels, and were more prevalent in the m iddle and upper levels in state and local governm ents than in middle and upper level positions at the national level. W om en are more likely to be in leadership positions in occupations that have traditionally been fe­ male sex segregated, w hether in the public or private sectors. Bulgaria constitutes a som ewhat different case. As Ananieva and Razvigorova note, the socialist revolution has had an enorm ous impact on Bulgarian w om en. In 1946, wom en constituted less than 10 percent of the paid labor force and in 1984, they constituted alm ost 50 percent o f all employed w orkers. The postw ar comm unist Bulgarian governm ent made a massive attempt to modernize the country and included wom en as a part of the m odernization process. Unlike the wom en in the other countries in this sym posium , Ananieva and Razvigorova report that Bulgarian wom en are represented in all aspects of the econom y —industry, engineering, ag­ riculture, in addition to participating heavily in the service spheres o f the econom y. Certain professions in Bulgaria continue to exhibit the charac­ teristics of sex segregated occupations. For exam ple, over 70 percent of all teaching and research staffs at all levels are wom en.

OTHER MAJOR DIFFERENCES The nations represented in this sym posium vary not only in the size of their populations, but also in the organization and ideology of their gov­ ernm ents, in the role o f the state in the econom y of each country, in the

124

Women and Public Administration: International Perspectives

history o f oppression or colonization, in the rural/urban division o f the society, and in religion, to m ention a few o f the m ajor differences. Table 2 presents som e o f these contrasts. As a com m unist country tied in the 1980s to the Soviet bloc, Bulgaria is unique am ong the other countries in this study. Both Bulgaria and India have recent histories o f being c o n ­ quered and occupied by foreign invaders: by the T urks and the G erm ans in the case o f B ulgaria, and by the British in the case o f India. The govern­ m ents o f both countries have, since 1947-1948, m ade heroic efforts to m odernize prim arily agrarian societies. Even today, 83 percent o f all w orking w om en w ork in agriculture in India (Seager and Olson 1986, 14), and in Bulgaria, 58 percent o f the agricultural labor force are wom en (Seager and O lson 1986, 41). The question o f religious affiliation in each country and its impact on the situation for w om en in top adm inistrative positions w as factored into the design o f this study only as a variable affecting the general socializa­ tion o f w om en in that society. N either the content o f the religions nor the content o f the dom inant governm ent ideologies w ere w ithin the m ethod­ ological fram ew ork o f this study. The six countries in this sym posium , how ever, do exhibit differences in religious affiliation. Furtherm ore, the interview and questionnaire data indicate that the w ay dom inant religious philosophies treat w om en has an im pact on m ore than the socialization of w om en adm inistrators. It also has an impact on how top w om en in these societies conduct their adm inistrative duties and the extent o f role conflict that they not only experience in their ow n m inds but that their clientele also feel and com m unicate. T hese questions deserve further probing in future studies. Table 2 identifies the m ajor religious affiliations in five o f the six countries w here that inform ation is available. The six countries also differ in the extent to which they have adm itted w om en to higher education. Table 2 show s that the U nited States, B ul­ garia, and Finland have m anaged to recruit equal num bers o f m ales and fem ales into higher education at the undergraduate level. At the graduate level, men still dom inate. In the U nited States and in Finland in the early 1980s, w om en received 32 percent and 24 percent o f all PhD degrees respectively (M organ 1984, 696, 215). The participation o f w om en in governm ent is another area in w hich the six countries differ. Five o f the countries are dem ocracies w hile Bulgaria is a socialist state. All have granted w om en the vote although at different tim es, and all have allow ed w om en into top governm ental positions but have kept the num bers o f w om en at the top very sm all. India is the only country that has had a fem ale head of governm ent.

125

Jane H. Bayes Table 2; Some General Characteristics in the 198Qs

Population in Millions* Religious Affiliation in %• Women in Higher University Education Undergrad­ uates in %*

India

USA

Germany

Netherland

Finland

Bulgaria

635

235

61

14

4.7

4.6

Hindi- 83 Moslem-11 Other- 6

Prot.- 33 Cath.- 22 Other- 5 None - 40

Prot.-49 Cath.-44 O ther-7

Cath.-44 Prot.-24 Other- 8 None- 24

Prot.-93

25 t

53

36

33

49

53

15

6

13

18

4

7

5

11

19

31

22

11

7

1

5